Das Wiener Schultheater an der Schwelle zum 21.Jahrhundert

Nach einer Begriffsdefinition "Schultheater" und "Darstellendes Spiel" gibt die Arbeit einen Kurzabriss über den historischen Einsatz der Theaterpädagogik an Schulen. Sie stellt praxistaugliche Ansätze der Theaterpädagogik dar. Mit Methoden der emipirschen Sozialforschung nähert sie sich Unterschieden des Angebots an privaten und öffentlichen Schulen. Für Wien als Theaterstadt gibt es nur wenig Angebot; ohne gezielter finanzieller und personeller Förderung hat sie laut Einschätzung aktiver Spielleiter keine große Zukunft

What Makes Digital Technology? A Categorization Based on Purpose

Digital technology (DT) is creating and shaping today’s world. Building on its identity and history of technology research, the Information Systems discipline is at the forefront of understanding the nature of DT and related phenomena. Understanding the nature of DT requires understanding its purposes. Because of the growing number of DTs, these purposes are diversifying, and further examination is needed. To that end, we followed an organizational systematics paradigm and present a taxonomic theory for DT that enables its classification through its diverse purposes. The taxonomic theory comprises a multi-layer taxonomy of DT and purpose-related archetypes, which we inferred from a sample of 92 real-world DTs. In our empirical evaluation, we assessed reliability, validity, and usefulness of the taxonomy and archetypes. The taxonomic theory exceeds existing technology classifications by being the first that (1) has been rigorously developed, (2) considers the nature of DT, (3) is sufficiently concrete to reflect the diverse purposes of DT, and (4) is sufficiently abstract to be persistent. Our findings add to the descriptive knowledge on DT, advance our understanding of the diverse purposes of DT, and lay the ground for further theorizing. Our work also supports practitioners in managing and designing DTs

Plant species selection by free-ranging cattle in southern Bolivian tropical montane forests

The frequency of selection of functional groups and plant species by free-ranging cattle foraging in a diverse environment and its changes during the dry and the following prehumid seasons were investigated using direct observations and bite counting. The study was conducted at two sites in the Bolivian-Tucuman montane forests in southern Bolivia, by including datasets of a total of 16 animals. Across both study sites and the entire observation period (May to October/November), the cattle were found to select a broad spectrum of plant species from different functional groups. However, just a limited number of species made up a considerable contribution to overall plant selection. The functional group of the graminoids was selected most frequently, but their contribution to plant selection decreased significantly from 63.5% of total bites in May to 15.9% in September/October, in accordance with a decrease in availability. Selection of woody plants (shrubs and tree parts, the latter mainly in the form of leaf litter and fruits) increased with time, reaching its peak at the beginning of the prehumid season, while the herbs showed a curvilinear pattern of selection which was highest in August. Plant species belonging to the functional groups of ferns, climbers and epiphytes were also selected by the cattle, but generally at low relative proportions. Plant selection might be influenced by temporal differences in nutritional quality and availability of the preferred plant species and functional groups. Sampling behaviour seems to be the most likely reason for the inclusion of a broad range of plant species with overall low contribution to plant selectio

Permutation entropy is not an age-independent parameter for EEG-based anesthesia monitoring.

BACKGROUND An optimized anesthesia monitoring using electroencephalographic (EEG) information in the elderly could help to reduce the incidence of postoperative complications. Processed EEG information that is available to the anesthesiologist is affected by the age-induced changes of the raw EEG. While most of these methods indicate a "more awake" patient with age, the permutation entropy (PeEn) has been proposed as an age-independent measure. In this article, we show that PeEn is also influenced by age, independent of parameter settings. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the EEG of more than 300 patients, recorded during steady state anesthesia without stimulation, and calculated the PeEn for different embedding dimensions m that was applied to the EEG filtered to a wide variety of frequency ranges. We constructed linear models to evaluate the relationship between age and PeEn. To compare our results to published studies, we also performed a stepwise dichotomization and used non-parametric tests and effect sizes for pairwise comparisons. RESULTS We found a significant influence of age on PeEn for all settings except for narrow band EEG activity. The analysis of the dichotomized data also revealed significant differences between old and young patients for the PeEn settings used in published studies. CONCLUSION Based on our findings, we could show the influence of age on PeEn. This result was independent of parameter, sample rate, and filter settings. Hence, age should be taken into consideration when using PeEn to monitor patient EEG

Pflanzenselektion durch freilebende Rinder in südbolivianischen Bergwäldern

The aim of the present research was to study the plant species selected by freeranging cattle in southern Bolivian subtropical mountain forests. The cattle were followed from May to November 2005 during 4-5 days/month in two study sites. The number of bites on the different plant species were recorded every 6 min. during 1 min. of actual observation. Additionally, plant availability was measured. The selection and availability data were ranked, giving rank number 1 to the most frequently selected plant species. Basing on this ranking system, species were categorized into four categories. Overall, 447 plant species were found in the study sites, whereof 364 were observed to be selected by the cattle. A low number of species (15, including indetermined leaf litter) made up the major part of plant selection (about 60%) and were classified as “main forage plants”, with the grass Ichnanthus pallens being the most selected plant species. Sixteen species were classified as “preferred”, 20 as “least preferred” and 121 as “neutral”

Tracing the geographic origin of poultry meat and dried beef with oxygen and strontium isotope ratios

Two promising isotope ratios, the δ18O of the water fraction, as extracted by azeotropic distillation, and the 87Sr/86Sr of the ash fraction were tested for their applicability to determine the geographic origin. In two sampling phases, in total 78 fresh poultry breast meat and 72 dried beef samples, independent from each other and originating from different countries, were analysed. The δ18O was measured with isotope ratio mass spectrometry and the isotope abundance ratio of 87Sr/86Sr with a multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. With δ18O it was possible to distinguish (p<0.001) poultry and dried beef samples according to their country of origin. The beef data suggests that the procedure of processing is of only low additional influence on δ18O and, if so, it seems to reduce the initial between-country differences. The 87Sr/86Sr ratio did not give sufficient indications for differentiation by geographic origin in either poultry meat or dried beef in the smaller, first phase, data set and was therefore not further teste

A Randomized Study Evaluating Oral Fusidic Acid (CEM-102) in Combination With Oral Rifampin Compared With Standard-of-Care Antibiotics for Treatment of Prosthetic Joint Infections: A Newly Identified Drug–Drug Interaction

BACKGROUND: Fusidic acid (FA) has been used for decades for bone infection, including prosthetic joint infection (PJI), often in combination with rifampin (RIF). An FA/RIF pharmacokinetic interaction has not previously been described. METHODS: In a phase 2 open-label randomized study, we evaluated oral FA/RIF vs standard-of-care (SOC) intravenous antibiotics for treatment of hip or knee PJI. Outcome assessment occurred at reimplantation (week 12) for subjects with 2-stage exchange, and after 3 or 6 months of treatment for subjects with hip or knee debride and retain strategies, respectively. RESULTS: Fourteen subjects were randomized 1:1 to FA/RIF or SOC. Pharmacokinetic profiles were obtained for 6 subjects randomized to FA/RIF. FA concentrations were lower than anticipated in all subjects during the first week of therapy, and at weeks 4 and 6, blood levels continued to decline. By week 6, FA exposures were 40%-45% lower than expected. CONCLUSIONS: The sponsor elected to terminate this study due to a clearly illustrated drug-drug interaction between FA and RIF, which lowered FA levels to a degree that could influence subject outcomes. Optimization of FA exposure if used in combination with RIF should be a topic of future research. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT01756924

Idarucizumab for Dabigatran Reversal - Full Cohort Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Idarucizumab, a monoclonal antibody fragment, was developed to reverse the anticoagulant effect of dabigatran. METHODS: We performed a multicenter, prospective, open-label study to determine whether 5 g of intravenous idarucizumab would be able to reverse the anticoagulant effect of dabigatran in patients who had uncontrolled bleeding (group A) or were about to undergo an urgent procedure (group B). The primary end point was the maximum percentage reversal of the anticoagulant effect of dabigatran within 4 hours after the administration of idarucizumab, on the basis of the diluted thrombin time or ecarin clotting time. Secondary end points included the restoration of hemostasis and safety measures. RESULTS: A total of 503 patients were enrolled: 301 in group A, and 202 in group B. The median maximum percentage reversal of dabigatran was 100% (95% confidence interval, 100 to 100), on the basis of either the diluted thrombin time or the ecarin clotting time. In group A, 137 patients (45.5%) presented with gastrointestinal bleeding and 98 (32.6%) presented with intracranial hemorrhage; among the patients who could be assessed, the median time to the cessation of bleeding was 2.5 hours. In group B, the median time to the initiation of the intended procedure was 1.6 hours; periprocedural hemostasis was assessed as normal in 93.4% of the patients, mildly abnormal in 5.1%, and moderately abnormal in 1.5%. At 90 days, thrombotic events had occurred in 6.3% of the patients in group A and in 7.4% in group B, and the mortality rate was 18.8% and 18.9%, respectively. There were no serious adverse safety signals. CONCLUSIONS: In emergency situations, idarucizumab rapidly, durably, and safely reversed the anticoagulant effect of dabigatran. (Funded by Boehringer Ingelheim; RE-VERSE AD ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02104947 .)

Modulation of frontal EEG alpha oscillations during maintenance and emergence phases of general anaesthesia to improve early neurocognitive recovery in older patients: protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background Postoperative delirium may manifest in the immediate post-anaesthesia care period. Such episodes appear to be predictive of further episodes of inpatient delirium and associated adverse outcomes. Frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) findings of suppression patterns and low proprietary index values have been associated with postoperative delirium and poor outcomes. However, the efficacy of titrating anaesthesia to proprietary index targets for preventing delirium remains contentious. We aim to assess the efficacy of two strategies which we hypothesise could prevent post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) delirium by maximising the alpha oscillation observed in frontal EEG channels during the maintenance and emergence phases of anaesthesia. Methods This is a 2 × 2 factorial, double-blind, stratified, randomised control trial of 600 patients. Eligible patients are those aged 60 years or over who are undergoing non-cardiac, non-intracranial, volatile-based anaesthesia of expected duration of more than 2 h. Patients will be stratified by pre-operative cognitive status, surgery type and site. For the maintenance phase of anaesthesia, patients will be randomised (1:1) to an alpha power-maximisation anaesthesia titration strategy versus standard care avoiding suppression patterns in the EEG. For the emergence phase of anaesthesia, patients will be randomised (1:1) to early cessation of volatile anaesthesia and emergence from an intravenous infusion of propofol versus standard emergence from volatile anaesthesia only. The primary study outcomes are the power of the frontal alpha oscillation during the maintenance and emergence phases of anaesthesia. Our main clinical outcome of interest is PACU delirium. Discussion This is a largely exploratory study; the extent to which EEG signatures can be modified by titration of pharmacological agents is not known. The underlying concept is maximisation of anaesthetic efficacy by individualised drug titration to a clearly defined EEG feature. The interventions are already clinically used strategies in anaesthetic practice, but have not been formally evaluated. The addition of propofol during the emergence phase of volatile-based general anaesthesia is known to reduce emergence delirium in children; however, the efficacy of this strategy in older patients is not known. Trial registration. Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry, ID: 12617001354370. Registered on 27/09/2017

I-BEAT: New ultrasonic method for single bunch measurement of ion energy distribution

The shape of a wave carries all information about the spatial and temporal structure of its source, given that the medium and its properties are known. Most modern imaging methods seek to utilize this nature of waves originating from Huygens' principle. We discuss the retrieval of the complete kinetic energy distribution from the acoustic trace that is recorded when a short ion bunch deposits its energy in water. This novel method, which we refer to as Ion-Bunch Energy Acoustic Tracing (I-BEAT), is a generalization of the ionoacoustic approach. Featuring compactness, simple operation, indestructibility and high dynamic ranges in energy and intensity, I-BEAT is a promising approach to meet the needs of petawatt-class laser-based ion accelerators. With its capability of completely monitoring a single, focused proton bunch with prompt readout it, is expected to have particular impact for experiments and applications using ultrashort ion bunches in high flux regimes. We demonstrate its functionality using it with two laser-driven ion sources for quantitative determination of the kinetic energy distribution of single, focused proton bunches.Comment: Paper: 17 Pages, 3 figures Supplementary Material 16 pages, 7 figure