Is boredom inevitable?

The article concerns the question whether boredom is inevitable. If, as Nietzsche claims, even the gods are at the mercy of boredom, does this mean, that boredom is something we should get used to? It is suggested, that the inevitability of boredom has several roots: The relation of the modern society to work and leisure, the existential experience of meaninglessness, modern technology and modern subjectivity. Indeed, the semantics of modern subjectivity, as Luhmann says, were born at the very moment when also the semantics of ennui emerged. The article suggests, that the consumer society not least is a reaction to the problem of boredom that stems from modern subjectivity. However, the consumer society is not able to realise the utopian situation of a world without boredom, because it does not only seek to abolish boredom but it also fuels the concept of modern subjectivity. Nevertheless, before the appearance of consumerism there already have been other tactics to cope with boredom, which also, ultimately, failed.peer-reviewe

Das lange Warten: Nicht-Beziehung und Dissoziation im Leben auf Standby

Der Artikel erörtert das existentielle Warten, das mit dem Gefühl einhergeht, ein Leben auf Standby zu führen. Dabei versucht der Autor, diesen Existenzmodus mit den im Artikel elaborierten Konzepten der Nicht-Beziehung bzw. des gesperrten Übergangs zu erhellen und verknüpft diese Konzepte mit Überlegungen zu dissoziativen Zuständen, dem Begriff des psychischen Todes und der Unlebendigkeit. Zudem wird vorgeschlagen, dass die therapeutische Situation sich dadurch auszeichnet, im Warten des anderen aufgehoben zu sein

Lifetime prediction for electrical drives – limiting factor capacity

The paper deals with approaches for estimation of capacitors’ condition and performances in context of their lifetime prediction for electrical drives applications. The physical structure and equivalent circuit of the high-voltage capacitor is given. Experiments for evaluation of these parameters are described. Dependences of capacitors’ technical condition and the estimated parameters are given.В статті розглянуті підходи визначення технічного стану і параметрів конденсаторів в контексті прогнозування їх терміну експлуатації в складі електричних приводів. Наданий опис фізичної структури високовольтного конденсатора та пояснена його схема заміщення. Наведений опис експериментів щодо визначення параметрів схеми заміщення. Показані залежності показників технічного стану від експериментально визначених параметрів

Percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation in a dysfunctional Trifecta® bioprothesis after high‐pressure balloon fracturing

A percutaneous pulmonary valve‐in‐valve (PPVIV) implantation in small surgical tissue valves may be limited due to the valve's initial diameter. Fracturing of the valve's integrity by high‐pressure balloons may enhance the diameter and facilitate subsequent PPVIV with a large valve. To the best of our knowledge, the Trifecta® valve seemed not to be accessible for fracturing. We report a case of successful 19‐mm Trifecta valve fracturing, followed by PPVIV using a 26‐mm Edwards SAPIEN 3 valve in pulmonary position. By repetitively using a high‐pressure balloon 5 mm larger than the labeled valve size, we were able to fracture the valve's integrity and implant a 26‐mm valve thereafter. Therefore, Trifecta valve appears to be suitable for valve ring fracturing and subsequent PPVIV in certain patients

Motor outcome, executive functioning, and health‐related quality of life of children, adolescents, and young adults after ventricular assist device and heart transplantation

Objective The aim of the current study is to measure long‐term executive function, motor outcome, and QoL in children, adolescents, and young adults after VAD and Htx. Methods Patients were examined during routine follow‐up. Investigation tools were used as follows: Examination for MND of motor outcomes, Epitrack® for attention and executive functioning, and Kidscreen‐52 and EQ‐5D‐5L questionnaires for QoL. Additional data were retrospectively obtained by an analysis of patient medical records. Results Out of 145 heart transplant recipients at the department of pediatric cardiology of the University Hospital Munich, 39 were implanted with a VAD between 1992 and 2016. Seventeen (43.6%) patients died before or after Htx; 22 (56.4%) patients were included in our study. Mean age at transplant was 9.52 years (range: 0.58‐24.39 years, median 9), and the mean follow‐up time after Htx was 6.18 years (range: 0.05‐14.60 years, median 5.82). MND examination could be performed in 13 patients (normal MND: n = 11, simple MND: n = 1, complex MND: n = 1). Executive functioning was tested in 15 patients. Two (13.3%) patients had good results, six (40%) average results, three (20%) borderline results, and four (26.7%) impaired results. QoL (Kidscreen n = 7, EQ‐5D‐5L n = 8) was similar to a healthy German population. Conclusion Motor outcome, executive functioning and QoL in survivors of VAD bridging therapy and Htx can be good, though underlying diseases and therapies are associated with a high risk of cerebral ischemic or hemorrhagic complications

Early outcomes of percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation using the Edwards SAPIEN XT transcatheter heart valve system

BACKGROUND: Patients with congenital or acquired heart defects affecting the pulmonary valve and right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) commonly require multiple surgical interventions, resulting in significant morbidity. A less invasive alternative is percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI). Though studies have previously reported the safety and efficacy of the early generation transcatheter heart valves (THVs), data on more recent devices are severely lacking. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a multinational, multicentre, retrospective, observational registry analysis of patients who underwent PPVI using the Edwards SAPIEN XT THV. Of the 46 patients that were enrolled, the majority had tetralogy of Fallot as the underlying diagnosis (58.7%), and stentless xenograft as the most common RVOT anatomy (34.8%). Procedural success rate was high (93.5%), with a low frequency of periprocedural complications and adverse events (6.5% and 10.9%, respectively). At 30days post-procedure, NYHA class had improved significantly (90.6% were at NYHA I or II). The rate of moderate/severe pulmonary regurgitation had decreased from 76.1% at baseline to 5.0% at 30days, and the calculated peak systolic gradient had decreased from 45.2 (SD±21.3) mmHg to 16.4 (SD±8.0) mmHg, with these values remaining low up to 2years. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest the efficacy and safety of the SAPIEN XT THV in PPVI in common anatomies in patients with conduits, as well as those with native pulmonary valves or transannular patches. Continued data collection is necessary to verify long-term findings

Varicellovirus UL49.5 Proteins Differentially Affect the Function of the Transporter Associated with Antigen Processing, TAP

Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes play an important role in the protection against viral infections, which they detect through the recognition of virus-derived peptides, presented in the context of MHC class I molecules at the surface of the infected cell. The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) plays an essential role in MHC class I–restricted antigen presentation, as TAP imports peptides into the ER, where peptide loading of MHC class I molecules takes place. In this study, the UL49.5 proteins of the varicelloviruses bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1), pseudorabies virus (PRV), and equine herpesvirus 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4) are characterized as members of a novel class of viral immune evasion proteins. These UL49.5 proteins interfere with MHC class I antigen presentation by blocking the supply of antigenic peptides through inhibition of TAP. BHV-1, PRV, and EHV-1 recombinant viruses lacking UL49.5 no longer interfere with peptide transport. Combined with the observation that the individually expressed UL49.5 proteins block TAP as well, these data indicate that UL49.5 is the viral factor that is both necessary and sufficient to abolish TAP function during productive infection by these viruses. The mechanisms through which the UL49.5 proteins of BHV-1, PRV, EHV-1, and EHV-4 block TAP exhibit surprising diversity. BHV-1 UL49.5 targets TAP for proteasomal degradation, whereas EHV-1 and EHV-4 UL49.5 interfere with the binding of ATP to TAP. In contrast, TAP stability and ATP recruitment are not affected by PRV UL49.5, although it has the capacity to arrest the peptide transporter in a translocation-incompetent state, a property shared with the BHV-1 and EHV-1 UL49.5. Taken together, these results classify the UL49.5 gene products of BHV-1, PRV, EHV-1, and EHV-4 as members of a novel family of viral immune evasion proteins, inhibiting TAP through a variety of mechanisms

The Displeasure of the Text

Der vorliegende, auf autobiographischen Erfahrungen basierende Beitrag versucht sich an einer Phänomenologie des Freelance-Textens auf digitalen Texterplattformen. Der Artikel gibt einen Einblick in unterschiedliche Facetten prekärer Schreibarbeit im 21. Jahrhundert. Im Vordergrund steht dabei die Frage, auf welche Weise strukturelle Veränderungen die gelebte Erfahrung beeinflussen. Es geht also nicht nur um eine Darstellung der Arbeitsbedingungen in diesem Feld, sondern auch und vor allem darum, dem Umstand Rechnung zu tragen, dass sich mit der Transformation des Schreibens im Plattformkapitalismus nicht nur das Geschriebene, sondern auch der Schreibende verändert: Wenn die Worte, die bei der Akkordarbeit des digitalen Textens und Werbens zusammengefügt werden, im wesentlichen tot sind, weil sie weder einer Erfahrung, einem Begehren, noch einem Wissen entsprechen, welcher Schatten fällt dann auf das schreibende Subjekt?The article focuses on the phenomenology of freelance writing on digital copywriting platforms. Based on autobiographical experiences, the text gives an insight into varying facets of the precarity of writing work in the 21st century. The core question addressed is that of how structural changes may influence lived experience. Thus, this article is not only concerned with poor working conditions; it also, above all, takes into account the fact that with the transformation of writing in platform capitalism, not only the writing, but also the writer changes. If the words put together in the piece work of digital texting and advertising are essentially dead, because they neither correspond to an experience, nor to a desire, nor to a form of knowledge, what shadow falls on the writing subject?Peer Reviewe