Enhanced service life of existing infrastructure buildings by use of concrete screw anchors as post-installed shear reinforcement

In the last decades, traffic on railways and roads has increased significantly in Central Europe. On the other hand, the existing infrastructure mainly origins from the late 1950s to the 1970s. This applies also for the existing bridge and tunnel infrastructure which is now up to 60 years old. Due to this age and new standards in the current codes, quite often the amount of shear reinforcement does not fulfil the current design code rules. As a replacement of existing structures is often highly unsustainable, methods to improve the shear strength are needed. Therefore, a new system for post-installed shear reinforcement by the use of concrete screws was developed at the University of Innsbruck in the last years. The idea is to use concrete screw anchors - already known as anchoring element - aspost-installed reinforcement. In over 60 shear tests with girders and slabs the excellent applicability  of concrete screw anchors as post-installed shear reinforcement has been proven. Also shear tests with cyclic loading were performed prove the use for dynamically loaded structures, such as bridges. Based on these test results a design approach was determined to meet the Eurocode-2 assessment standards.Several pilot-projects with concrete screws have been realised in Austria and Germany. For example a rail-road-bridge over a German highway with a remaining service life of zero years was strengthened to a new service life of over 20 years. Also a city-centre tunnel in Munich which was erected below a historic building is currently strengthened under ongoing traffic in the tunnel using concrete screw anchors as post-installed reinforcement

Migration, Integration, Asylumin Germany 2019: Political and Legal Developments

Der jährlich erscheinende Politikbericht der nationalen Kontaktstelle des Europäischen Migrationsnetzwerks (EMN) beschreibt für knapp ein Dutzend Themenfelder im Bereich der Migrations-, Integration- und Asylpolitik relevante Entwicklungen im Jahr 2019. Der 16. Politikbericht im Rahmen des EMN bietet wie gewohnt einen Überblick über die wichtigsten politischen, rechtlichen und institutionellen Entwicklungen des Jahres 2019 in den folgenden Bereichen: Allgemeine politische, rechtliche und institutionelle Struktur, legale Zuwanderung und Mobilität, internationaler Schutz und Asyl, unbegleitete Minderjährige und andere besonders schutzbedürftige Personengruppen, Integration und Antidiskriminierung, Staatsangehörigkeit und Staatenlosigkeit, Grenzkontrolle und Visapolitik, irreguläre Migration und Schleusung, Rückkehr, Menschenhandel und Migration und Entwicklung.The annual policy report of the National Contact Point of the European Migration Network (EMN) describes relevant developments of the year 2019 across several topical areas in migration, integration and asylum policy. As usual, the 16th Policy Report of the EMN provides an overview of the most important political, legal and institutional developments in 2019 in the following areas: general political, legal and institutional structure, legal migration and mobility, international protection and asylum, naccompanied minors and other vulnerable groups, integration and non-discrimination, citizenship and statelessness, border control and visa policy, irregular migration, migrant smuggling, returns, trafficking in human beings, and migration and development

Peer-to-Peer Architekturen für Kollaboration in Communities

Gegenwärtig ist das „File-Sharing“ von MP3-Files wohl eine der populärsten Applikationen mit Peer-to-Peer-Architektur. Einige neue Applikationen mit Peer-to-Peer-Architekturen unterstützen die Kollaboration in Communities und in vielerlei Hinsicht können diese Peer-to-Peer-Architekturen Communities wesentlich besser unterstützen als konventionelle Architekturen. In diesem Papier wird ein Rahmenwerk für die Beschreibung von Architekturen von Kollaborationsplattformen und Gemeinschaften vorgestellt. Betrachtet werden: Architektur, Dienste, der Beitrag der Gemeinschaft zur wirtschaftlichen Wertschöpfung und der Zusammenhang zwischen Architektur und Verhalten der Community. Motivation für die Betrachtungen ist die Entwicklung im Bereich des „File-Sharing“ von MP3-Files

The yeast centrosome translates the positional information of the anaphase spindle into a cell cycle signal

The spindle orientation checkpoint (SPOC) of budding yeast delays mitotic exit when cytoplasmic microtubules (MTs) are defective, causing the spindle to become misaligned. Delay is achieved by maintaining the activity of the Bfa1–Bub2 guanosine triphosphatase–activating protein complex, an inhibitor of mitotic exit. In this study, we show that the spindle pole body (SPB) component Spc72, a transforming acidic coiled coil–like molecule that interacts with the γ-tubulin complex, recruits Kin4 kinase to both SPBs when cytoplasmic MTs are defective. This allows Kin4 to phosphorylate the SPB-associated Bfa1, rendering it resistant to inactivation by Cdc5 polo kinase. Consistently, forced targeting of Kin4 to both SPBs delays mitotic exit even when the anaphase spindle is correctly aligned. Moreover, we present evidence that Spc72 has an additional function in SPOC regulation that is independent of the recruitment of Kin4. Thus, Spc72 provides a missing link between cytoplasmic MT function and components of the SPOC

De Novo Lipogenesis-Related Monounsaturated Fatty Acids in the Blood Are Associated with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in HFpEF Patients

De novo lipogenesis (DNL)-related monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) in the blood are associated with incident heart failure (HF). This observation's biological plausibility may be due to the potential of these MUFAs to induce proinflammatory pathways, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and insulin resistance, which are pathophysiologically relevant in HF. The associations of circulating MUFAs with cardiometabolic phenotypes in patients with heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) are unknown. In this secondary analysis of the Aldosterone in Diastolic Heart Failure trial, circulating MUFAs were analysed in 404 patients using the HS-Omega-3-Index$^{®}$ methodology. Patients were 67 ± 8 years old, 53% female, NYHA II/III (87/13%). The ejection fraction was ≥50%, E/e' 7.1 ± 1.5, and the median NT-proBNP 158 ng/L (IQR 82-298). Associations of MUFAs with metabolic, functional, and echocardiographic patient characteristics at baseline/12 months follow-up (12 mFU) were analysed using Spearman's correlation coefficients and linear regression analyses, using sex/age as covariates. Circulating levels of C16:1n7 and C18:1n9 were positively associated with BMI/truncal adiposity and associated traits (dysglycemia, atherogenic dyslipidemia, and biomarkers suggestive of non-alcoholic-fatty liver disease). They were furthermore inversely associated with functional capacity at baseline/12 mFU. In contrast, higher levels of C20:1n9 and C24:1n9 were associated with lower cardiometabolic risk and higher exercise capacity at baseline/12 mFU. In patients with HFpEF, circulating levels of individual MUFAs were differentially associated with cardiovascular risk factors. Our findings speak against categorizing FA based on physicochemical properties. Circulating MUFAs may warrant further investigation as prognostic markers in HFpEF

Lifestyle factors and high-risk atherosclerosis: Pathways and mechanisms beyond traditional risk factors

Despite major efforts to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) burden with conventional risk factor control, significant residual risk remains. Recent evidence on non-traditional determinants of cardiometabolic health has advanced our understanding of lifestyle-disease interactions. Chronic exposure to environmental stressors like poor diet quality, sedentarism, ambient air pollution and noise, sleep deprivation and psychosocial stress affect numerous traditional and non-traditional intermediary pathways related to ASCVD. These include body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength and functionality and the intestinal microbiome, which are increasingly recognized as major determinants of cardiovascular health. Evidence points to partially overlapping mechanisms, including effects on inflammatory and nutrient sensing pathways, endocrine signalling, autonomic function and autophagy. Of particular relevance is the potential of low-risk lifestyle factors to impact on plaque vulnerability through altered adipose tissue and skeletal muscle phenotype and secretome. Collectively, low-risk lifestyle factors cause a set of phenotypic adaptations shifting tissue cross-talk from a proinflammatory milieu conducive for high-risk atherosclerosis to an anti-atherogenic milieu. The ketone body ß-hydroxybutyrate, through inhibition of the NLRP-3 inflammasome, is likely to be an intermediary for many of these observed benefits. Adhering to low-risk lifestyle factors adds to the prognostic value of optimal risk factor management, and benefit occurs even when the impact on conventional risk markers is discouragingly minimal or not present. The aims of this review are (a) to discuss novel lifestyle risk factors and their underlying biochemical principles and (b) to provide new perspectives on potentially more feasible recommendations to improve long-term adherence to low-risk lifestyle factors

High-Risk Atherosclerosis and Metabolic Phenotype: The Roles of Ectopic Adiposity, Atherogenic Dyslipidemia, and Inflammation

Current algorithms for assessing risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and, in particular, the reliance on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in conditions where this measurement is discordant with apoB and LDL-particle concentrations fail to identify a sizeable part of the population at high risk for adverse cardiovascular events. This results in missed opportunities for ASCVD prevention, most notably in those with metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, and diabetes. There is substantial evidence that accumulation of ectopic fat and associated metabolic traits are markers for and pathogenic components of high-risk atherosclerosis. Conceptually, the subset of advanced lesions in high-risk atherosclerosis that triggers vascular complications is closely related to a set of coordinated high-risk traits clustering around a distinct metabolic phenotype. A key feature of this phenotype is accumulation of ectopic fat, which, coupled with age-related muscle loss, creates a milieu conducive for the development of ASCVD: atherogenic dyslipidemia, nonresolving inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, hyperinsulinemia, and impaired fibrinolysis. Sustained vascular inflammation, a hallmark of high-risk atherosclerosis, impairs plaque stabilization in this phenotype. This review describes how metabolic and inflammatory processes that are promoted in large measure by ectopic adiposity, as opposed to subcutaneous adipose tissue, relate to the pathogenesis of high-risk atherosclerosis. Clinical biomarkers indicative of these processes provide incremental information to standard risk factor algorithms and advanced lipid testing identifies atherogenic lipoprotein patterns that are below the discrimination level of standard lipid testing. This has the potential to enable improved identification of high-risk patients who are candidates for therapeutic interventions aimed at prevention of ASCVD

Trans-fatty acid blood levels of industrial but not natural origin are associated with cardiovascular risk factors in patients with HFpEF: a secondary analysis of the Aldo-DHF trial

BACKGROUND Industrially processed trans-fatty acids (IP-TFA) have been linked to altered lipoprotein metabolism, inflammation and increased NT-proBNP. In patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), associations of TFA blood levels with patient characteristics are unknown. METHODS This is a secondary analysis of the Aldo-DHF-RCT. From 422 patients, individual blood TFA were analyzed at baseline in n = 404 using the HS-Omega-3-Index$^{®}$ methodology. Patient characteristics were: 67 ± 8 years, 53% female, NYHA II/III (87/13%), ejection fraction ≥ 50%, E/e' 7.1 ± 1.5; NT-proBNP 158 ng/L (IQR 82-298). A principal component analysis was conducted but not used for further analysis as cumulative variance for the first two PCs was low. Spearman's correlation coefficients as well as linear regression analyses, using sex and age as covariates, were used to describe associations of whole blood TFA with metabolic phenotype, functional capacity, echocardiographic markers for LVDF and neurohumoral activation at baseline and after 12 months. RESULTS Blood levels of the naturally occurring TFA C16:1n-7t were inversely associated with dyslipidemia, body mass index/truncal adiposity, surrogate markers for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and inflammation at baseline/12 months. Conversely, IP-TFA C18:1n9t, C18:2n6tt and C18:2n6tc were positively associated with dyslipidemia and isomer C18:2n6ct with dysglycemia. C18:2n6tt and C18:2n6ct were inversely associated with submaximal aerobic capacity at baseline/12 months. No significant association was found between TFA and cardiac function. CONCLUSIONS In HFpEF patients, higher blood levels of IP-TFA, but not naturally occurring TFA, were associated with dyslipidemia, dysglycemia and lower functional capacity. Blood TFAs, in particular C16:1n-7t, warrant further investigation as prognostic markers in HFpEF. Higher blood levels of industrially processed TFA, but not of the naturally occurring TFA C16:1n-7t, are associated with a higher risk cardiometabolic phenotype and prognostic of lower aerobic capacity in patients with HFpEF

Migration, Integration, Asyl in Deutschland 2019: Politische und Rechtliche Entwicklungen

Der jährlich erscheinende Politikbericht der nationalen Kontaktstelle des Europäischen Migrationsnetzwerks (EMN) beschreibt für knapp ein Dutzend Themenfelder im Bereich der Migrations-, Integration- und Asylpolitik relevante Entwicklungen im Jahr 2019. Der 16. Politikbericht im Rahmen des EMN bietet wie gewohnt einen Überblick über die wichtigsten politischen, rechtlichen und institutionellen Entwicklungen des Jahres 2019 in den folgenden Bereichen: Allgemeine politische, rechtliche und institutionelle Struktur, legale Zuwanderung und Mobilität, internationaler Schutz und Asyl, unbegleitete Minderjährige und andere besonders schutzbedürftige Personengruppen, Integration und Antidiskriminierung, Staatsangehörigkeit und Staatenlosigkeit, Grenzkontrolle und Visapolitik, irreguläre Migration und Schleusung, Rückkehr, Menschenhandel und Migration und Entwicklung.The annual policy report of the National Contact Point of the European Migration Network (EMN) describes relevant developments of the year 2019 across several topical areas in migration, integration and asylum policy. As usual, the 16th Policy Report of the EMN provides an overview of the most important political, legal and institutional developments in 2019 in the following areas: general political, legal and institutional structure, legal migration and mobility, international protection and asylum, naccompanied minors and other vulnerable groups, integration and non-discrimination, citizenship and statelessness, border control and visa policy, irregular migration, migrant smuggling, returns, trafficking in human beings, and migration and development

Migration, Integration, Asylum: Political Developments in Germany 2018

Der jährlich erscheinende Politikbericht der nationalen Kontaktstelle des Europäischen Migrationsnetzwerks (EMN) beschreibt für knapp ein Dutzend Themenfelder im Bereich der Migrations-, Integrations- und Asylpolitik relevante Entwicklungen im Jahr 2018. Der 15. Politikbericht im Rahmen des Europäischen Migrationsnetzwerks bietet wie gewohnt einen Überblick über die wichtigsten politischen, rechtlichen und institutionellen Entwicklungen des Jahres 2018 in den folgenden Bereichen: Allgemeine politische, rechtliche und institutionelle Struktur, legale Zuwanderung und Mobilität, internationaler Schutz und Asyl, unbegleitete Minderjährige und andere Schutzbedürftige, Integration und Antidiskriminierung, Saatsangehörigkeit und Staatenlosigkeit, irreguläre Migration, Schleusung, Grenzkontrolle und Visapolitik, Rückkehr, Menschenhandel und Migration und Entwicklung. Der EU-weit vergleichende Bericht "Annual Report on Migration and Asylum 2018" fasst wiederum die Ergebnisse von 27 nationalen Politikberichten zusammen und gibt somit einen hilfreichen Überblick zu den EU-weiten Entwicklungen.The annual policy report of the National Contact Point of the European Migration Network (EMN) describes relevant developments in 2018 for almost a dozen topical areas in migration, integration and asylum policy. As usual, the 15th Policy Report of the European Migration Network provides an overview of the most important political, legal and institutional developments in 2018 in the following areas: general political, legal and institutional structure, legal migration and mobility, international protection and asylum, unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable groups, integration and non-discrimination, citizenship and statelessness, irregular migration, migrant smuggling, border control and visa policy, returns, trafficking in human beings, and migration and development. The EU-wide comparative report entitled "Annual Report on Migration and Asylum 2018" summarises the results of 27 national policy reports, and thus provides a helpful overview of EU-wide developments. The comparative annual report is available in three different formats, each in English: the detailed EMN synthesis report, the compact EMN Inform, and the one-page EMN Flash