240 research outputs found

    Seelsorge in einer sich verändernden polnischen Gesellschaft

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    polska wersja artykułu opublikowanego po niemieckuProwadzone od wieków przez zakony, stowarzyszenia i fundacje chrześcijańskie szpitale, domy pomocy, ośrodki Caritasu i ochronki zostały znacjonalizowane w Polsce i Europie Wschodniej po 1945 roku. Jednocześnie z oddaleniem związków wyznaniowych od opieki medycznej i pomocy społecznej malał prestiż zawodów medycznych i pomocowych oraz marksistowska ideologizacja środowiska. Opór integrował w Polsce te środowiska e z Kościołem katolickim, przypominającymi o etyce chrześcijańskiej i deontologii opartej na chrześcijańskim personalizmie. Solidarność Służby Zdrowia i postulaty dotyczące powrotu do etyki zawodów medycznych oraz przywrócenia funkcji kapelanów szpitali i instytucji pomocy społecznej znalazły się w Rozporządzeniu Ministra Zdrowia z 1981 roku. Do 1989 roku w Polsce obszarem, w którym na styku ochrony zdrowia, pomocy społecznej, wolontariatu i związków wyznaniowych, rozwijała się opieka duchowo-religijna, były wolontaryjne zespoły domowej opieki hospicyjnej. Ich przykład pomógł w procesie odbudowy opieki duchowo-religijnej w ochronie zdrowia i pomocy społecznej, a także w nowych inicjatywach zespołowej opieki duszpasterskiej. Współczesne polskie społeczeństwo jest jednym z najbardziej religijnych w Europie, a dominującą religią jest katolicyzm. Wobec zmian społecznych i kulturowych ważna jest wrażliwość wobec zmieniających się potrzeb duchowo-religijnych i różny stopień przynależności pacjentów do wspólnot wiary. Świdomość różnorodności wyznaniowej i kulturowej, rozróżnienie potrzeb duchowych, uznawanych za jedną z powszechnych potrzeb każdej osoby, od potrzeb religijnych, związanych z przynależnością do danej wspólnoty wiary jest wyzwaniem w pastoralnej opiece w warunkach instytucjonalnych i domowych.Charitable institutions, carried out for centuries by religious orders, associations and foundations Christian hospitals, nursing homes, Caritas centers were nationalized in Poland and Eastern Europe after 1945. Simultaneously with the remoteness of religious associations of medical care and social assistance diminish the prestige of the medical profession and Marxist ideologisation of caring environment. Resistance integrated those careers in Poland with the Catholic Church, reminiscent of Christian ethics and professional conduct based on Christian personalism. Solidarity demanded return to ethics of the medical profession and to restore the chaplains of hospitals and social assistance institutions. It was included in the Regulation of the Minister of Health in 1981. Until 1989 in Poland, an area in which to contact the health, social welfare, voluntary and religious organizations, developed health spiritual-religious, volunteer teams were home hospice care. Their example helped in the reconstruction process of spiritual and religious care in health care and social assistance, as well as new initiatives in the pastoral care teams. The contemporary Polish society is one of the most religious in Europe, and the dominant religion is Catholicism. To change the social and cultural importance of sensitivity to the changing needs of the spiritual-religious and different degree of membership subjects to the faith communities. Awareness of diversity of religious and cultural distinction spiritual needs, recognized as one of the common needs of each person, from religious needs, relating to participation in the faith community is a challenge in pastoral care in institutional settings and home care

    Mesoscale texture of cement hydrates

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    Strength and other mechanical properties of cement and concrete rely upon the formation of calcium-silicate-hydrates (C-S-H) during cement hydration. Controlling structure and properties of the C-S-H phase is a challenge, due to the complexity of this hydration product and of the mechanisms that drive its precipitation from the ionic solution upon dissolution of cement grains in water. Departing from traditional models mostly focused on length scales above the micrometer, recent research addressed the molecular structure of C-S-H. However, small-angle neutron scattering, electron- microscopy imaging, and nanoindentation experiments suggest that its mesoscale organization, extending over hundreds of nanometers, may be more important. Here we unveil the C-S-H mesoscale texture, a crucial step to connect the fundamental scales to the macroscale of engineering properties. We use simulations that combine information of the nanoscale building units of C-S-H and their effective interactions, obtained from atomistic simulations and experiments, into a statistical physics framework for aggregating nanoparticles. We compute small-angle scattering intensities, pore size distributions, specific surface area, local densities, indentation modulus, and hardness of the material, providing quantitative understanding of different experimental investigations. Our results provide insight into how the heterogeneities developed during the early stages of hydration persist in the structure of C-S-H and impact the mechanical performance of the hardened cement paste. Unraveling such links in cement hydrates can be groundbreaking and controlling them can be the key to smarter mix designs of cementitious materials

    Development of a Sandwich ELISA to Measure Exposure to Occupational Cow Hair Allergens

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    Background: Cow hair and dander are important inducers of occupational allergies in cattle-exposed farmers. To estimate allergen exposure in farming environments, a sensitive enzyme immunoassay was developed to measure cow hair allergens. Methods: A sandwich ELISA was developed using polyclonal rabbit antibodies against a mixture of hair extracts from different cattle breeds. To assess the specificity of the assay, extracts from other mammalian epithelia, mites, molds and grains were tested. To validate the new assay, cow hair allergens were measured in passive airborne dust samples from the stables and homes of farmers. Dust was collected with electrostatic dust fall collectors (EDCs). Results: The sandwich ELISA was found to be very sensitive (detection limit: 0.1 ng/ml) and highly reproducible, demonstrating intra-and interassay coefficients of variation of 4 and 10%, respectively. The assay showed no reactivity with mites, molds and grains, but some cross-reactivity with other mammalian epithelia, with the strongest reaction with goat. Using EDCs for dust sampling, high concentrations of bovine allergens were measured in cow stables (4,760-559,400 mu g/m(2)). In addition, bovine allergens were detected in all areas of cattle farmer dwellings. A large variation was found between individual samples (0.3-900 mu g/m(2)) and significantly higher values were discovered in changing rooms. Conclusion: The ELISA developed for the detection of cow hair proteins is a useful tool for allergen quantification in occupational and home environments. Based on its low detection limit, this test is sensitive enough to detect allergens in passive airborne dust. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

    Combinatorial molecular optimization of cement hydrates

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    Despite its ubiquitous presence in the built environment, concrete’s molecular-level properties are only recently being explored using experimental and simulation studies. Increasing societal concerns about concrete’s environmental footprint have provided strong motivation to develop new concrete with greater specific stiffness or strength (for structures with less material). Herein, a combinatorial approach is described to optimize properties of cement hydrates. The method entails screening a computationally generated database of atomic structures of calcium-silicate-hydrate, the binding phase of concrete, against a set of three defect attributes: calcium-to-silicon ratio as compositional index and two correlation distances describing medium-range silicon-oxygen and calcium-oxygen environments. Although structural and mechanical properties correlate well with calcium-to-silicon ratio, the cross-correlation between all three defect attributes reveals an indentation modulus-to-hardness ratio extremum, analogous to identifying optimum network connectivity in glass rheology. We also comment on implications of the present findings for a novel route to optimize the nanoscale mechanical properties of cement hydrate.National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (Research sponsorship)Education Foundation (N.J.) (Research sponsorship)Portland Cement Association (Research sponsorship

    SARS-CoV-2 Restructures Host Chromatin Architecture

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    Some viruses restructure host chromatin, influencing gene expression, with implications for disease outcome. Whether this occurs for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, is largely unknown. Here we characterized the 3D genome and epigenome of human cells after SARS-CoV-2 infection, finding widespread host chromatin restructuring that features widespread compartment A weakening, A-B mixing, reduced intra-TAD contacts and decreased H3K27ac euchromatin modification levels. Such changes were not found following common-cold-virus HCoV-OC43 infection. Intriguingly, the cohesin complex was notably depleted from intra-TAD regions, indicating that SARS-CoV-2 disrupts cohesin loop extrusion. These altered 3D genome/epigenome structures correlated with transcriptional suppression of interferon response genes by the virus, while increased H3K4me3 was found in the promoters of pro-inflammatory genes highly induced during severe COVID-19. These findings show that SARS-CoV-2 acutely rewires host chromatin, facilitating future studies of the long-term epigenomic impacts of its infection

    Family Planning Decisions, Perceptions and Gender Dynamics among Couples in Mwanza, Tanzania: A Qualitative Study.

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    Contraceptive use is low in developing countries which are still largely driven by male dominated culture and patriarchal values. This study explored family planning (FP) decisions, perceptions and gender dynamics among couples in Mwanza region of Tanzania. Twelve focus group discussions and six in-depth interviews were used to collect information from married or cohabiting males and females aged 18-49. The participants were purposively selected. Qualitative methods were used to explore family planning decisions, perceptions and gender dynamics among couples. A guide with questions related to family planning perceptions, decisions and gender dynamics was used. The discussions and interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed manually and subjected to content analysis. Four themes emerged during the study. First, "risks and costs" which refer to the side effects of FP methods and the treatment of side -effects as well as the costs inherit in being labeled as an unfaithful spouse. Second, "male involvement" as men showed little interest in participating in family planning issues. However, the same men were mentioned as key decision-makers even on the number of children a couple should have and the child spacing of these children. Third, "gender relations and communication" as participants indicated that few women participated in decision-making on family planning and the number of children to have. Fourth, "urban-rural differences", life in rural favoring having more children than urban areas therefore, the value of children depended on the place of residence. Family Planning programs should adapt the promotion of communication as well as joint decision-making on FP among couples as a strategy aimed at enhancing FP use

    Caveolin1 interacts with the glucocorticoid receptor in the lung but is dispensable for its anti-inflammatory actions in lung inflammation and Trichuris Muris infection

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    Glucocorticoids (Gcs) are widely prescribed anti-inflammatory compounds, which act through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Using an unbiased proteomics screen in lung tissue, we identified the membrane protein caveolin -1 (Cav1) as a direct interaction partner of the GR. In Cav1 knockout mice GR transactivates anti-inflammatory genes, including Dusp1, more than in controls. We therefore determined the role of Cav1 in modulating Gc action in two models of pulmonary inflammation. We first tested innate responses in lung. Loss of Cav1 impaired the inflammatory response to nebulized LPS, increasing cytokine/chemokine secretion from lung, but impairing neutrophil infiltration. Despite these changes to the inflammatory response, there was no Cav1 effect on anti-inflammatory capacity of Gcs. We also tested GR/Cav1 crosstalk in a model of allergic airway inflammation. Cav1 had a very mild effect on the inflammatory response, but no effect on the Gc response – with comparable immune cell infiltrate (macrophage, eosinophils, neutrophils), pathological score and PAS positive cells observed between both genotypes. Pursuing the Th2 adaptive immune response further we demonstrate that Cav1 knockout mice retained their ability to expel the intestinal nematode parasite T.muris, which requires adaptive Th2 immune response for elimination. Therefore, Cav1 regulates innate immune responses in the lung, but does not have an effect on Th2-mediated adaptive immunity in lung or gut. Although we demonstrate that Cav1 regulates GR transactivation of anti-inflammatory genes, this does not translate to an effect on suppression of inflammation in vivo

    Densification of the interlayer spacing governs the nanomechanical properties of calcium-silicate-hydrate

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    Calciuam-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) is the principal binding phase in modern concrete. Molecular simulations imply that its nanoscale stiffness is 'defect-driven', i.e., dominated by crystallographic defects such as bridging site vacancies in its silicate chains. However, experimental validation of this result is difficult due to the hierarchically porous nature of C-S-H down to nanometers. Here, we integrate high pressure X-ray diffraction and atomistic simulations to correlate the anisotropic deformation of nanocrystalline C-S-H to its atomic-scale structure, which is changed by varying the Ca-to-Si molar ratio. Contrary to the 'defect-driven' hypothesis, we clearly observe stiffening of C-S-H with increasing Ca/Si in the range 0.8 ≤ Ca/Si ≤ 1.3, despite increasing numbers of vacancies in its silicate chains. The deformation of these chains along the b-axis occurs mainly through tilting of the Si-O-Si dihedral angle rather than shortening of the Si-O bond, and consequently there is no correlation between the incompressibilities of the a- and b-axes and the Ca/Si. On the contrary, the intrinsic stiffness of C-S-H solid is inversely correlated with the thickness of its interlayer space. This work provides direct experimental evidence to conduct more realistic modelling of C-S-H-based cementitious material
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