Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4 gene expression in canine heart

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are archetypal pattern recognition receptors of immediate importance for an efficacious innate immune response. TLRs exhibit marked differential tissue activity and their levels within a discrete cell type can be highly dynamic. Of 13 known mammalian paralogues, three TLRs have been identified in the dog. Although cardiac TLR expression has been reported in other species, this study is the first to present evidence that these innate immune receptors are expressed in the canine heart. Heart tissue samples from all four chambers were collected from healthy dogs immediately after euthanasia and stored at -80°C until analysis. Total RNA was extracted with TRI Regent. Specific primers were designed for amplification of canine TLR2 and TLR4 based on previously reported sequences for these genes. Reverse transcription was performed with M-MLV reverse transcriptase. PCR amplification was performed and PCR products analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Bands were excised from the gel and the DNA isolated and cloned using the TA Cloning® Kit. The correct sequence for each product was verified by nucleotide sequencing. TLR4 expression was detected in the left ventricle and right atrium; TLR2 was detectable at low levels in the right atrium only. Identity of the RT-PCR products was confirmed by sequencing. Our findings show that at least two TLR paralogues- namely TLR2 and TLR4 - are expressed in the canine heart. Additional studies are warranted to determine these immune receptors' potential implication in the development of naturally occurring heart disease in the dog

Small Deviation Probability via Chaining

We obtain several extensions of Talagrand's lower bound for the small deviation probability using metric entropy. For Gaussian processes, our investigations are focused on processes with sub-polynomial and, respectively, exponential behaviour of covering numbers. The corresponding results are also proved for non-Gaussian symmetric stable processes, both for the cases of critically small and critically large entropy. The results extensively use the classical chaining technique; at the same time they are meant to explore the limits of this method.Comment: to appear in: Stochastic Processes and Their Application

Ist Schwarzkopieren eine Altersfrage? : Eine Untersuchung zum Beschaffungsverhalten von digitalen Gütern in Abhängigkeit vom Alter

Illegale Downloads über das Internet sind nach wie vor ein viel diskutiertes Thema. Für das Phänomen des Schwarzkopierens werden vielfältige Erklärungen herangezogen. Es gibt eine große Zahl an Studien, die untersuchen welche Faktoren Menschen motivieren, illegale Downloads über das Internet zu tätigen. Dazu gehören u.a. ihre Moralvorstellungen, die monetären Verhältnisse, die Gesetzeslage oder auch die ihnen zur Verfügung stehenden technischen Möglichkeiten. In vielen Studien zum Schwarzkopieren wird das Alter als eine ganz zentrale Größe genannt (z.B. Coyle 2009). Generalisierend lässt sich daraus folgende These ableiten: Je älter jemand ist, desto weniger neigt er oder sie dazu, illegale Online-Downloads zu tätigen. Diese Aussage wurde auf Basis der vorhandenen Literatur untersucht. Dazu wurde ein umfassendes Modell erstellt, welches alle derzeit bekannten Einflussfaktoren auf illegale Online-Downloads sowie deren Zusammenhänge darstellt. Hieraus wurden die in Beziehung mit dem Alter stehenden Faktoren extrahiert und einer empirischen Prüfung unterzogen. Die zentrale Erkenntnis ist, dass sich das Schwarzkopierverhalten tatsächlich mit dem Alter ändert und zwar gegenläufig. Es konnte weiterhin gezeigt werden, dass es nicht das Alter selbst ist, sondern vielmehr die individuellen Dispositionen und Lebensumstände, die sich altersabhängig verändern. Vor allem der Eintritt in das Berufsleben markiert einen entscheidenden Wendepunkt beim Schwarzkopierverhalten.Filesharing is still a phenomenon that is widely discussed. Multiple explanations are existing to clarify its reasons and a vast number of studies can be found that investigate them further. Reasons amongst others are: moral judgement, income, copyright rules or technical skills. Very often age is a key factor being accounted for (e.g. Coyle 2009). In general the related hypothesis is: the older someone is the less s/he is prone to digital piracy. In this paper extensive research has been done to analyze this hypothesis. As a first step a comprehensive model of all factors known so far that are influencing the individual downloading behavior and their interdependencies is being presented. Factors that are directly relating to age are extracted and empirically tested. The main insight is: downloading does decrease with increasing age. But it is not age itself that is the cause rather than individual dispositions and personal circumstances that change when getting older. Especially entry into the labor market is a decisive turning point

Running Inflation in the Standard Model

An interacting scalar field with largish coupling to curvature can support a distinctive inflationary universe scenario. Previously this has been discussed for the Standard Model Higgs field, treated classically or in a leading log approximation. Here we investigate the quantum theory using renormalization group methods. In this model the running of both the effective Planck mass and the couplings is important. The cosmological predictions are consistent with existing WMAP5 data, with 0.967 < n_s < 0.98 (for N_e = 60) and negligible gravity waves. We find a relationship between the spectral index and the Higgs mass that is sharply varying for m_h ~ 120-135 GeV (depending on the top mass); in the future, that relationship could be tested against data from PLANCK and LHC. We also comment briefly on how similar dynamics might arise in more general settings, and discuss our assumptions from the effective field theory point of view.Comment: 17 pages in Phys Lett B format, 5 figures; v3: updated to match published version, includes new Appendix B on EF

Neuberufene vor neuen Herausforderungen - Coaching für gute Lehre von Anfang an

Im Herbst 2010 wurde an der Fachhochschule Köln das Projekt „LehrendenCoaching“ etabliert und im Frühling 2011 von Präsidium und Senat als verbindlich für alle Neuberufenen verabschiedet. Es verfolgt das Ziel, neu berufene Professorinnen und Professoren der FH Köln durch ein individuelles Coachingangebot in ihrer Professionalität als Lehrende zu unterstützen. Ergänzend wurde ein Peer Coaching-System unter professioneller Anleitung eingeführt, das auch die erfahrenen Professorinnen und Professoren auf freiwilliger Basis einbezieht. Damit richtet sich das LehrendenCoaching zwar primär an Neuberufene, wird aber auch von erfahrenen Lehrenden nachgefragt und in Anspruch genommen. 02.11.2011 | Frank Linde & Birgit Szczyrba (Köln

Thermal Decay of the Cosmological Constant into Black Holes

We show that the cosmological constant may be reduced by thermal production of membranes by the cosmological horizon, analogous to a particle ``going over the top of the potential barrier", rather than tunneling through it. The membranes are endowed with charge associated with the gauge invariance of an antisymmetric gauge potential. In this new process, the membrane collapses into a black hole, thus the net effect is to produce black holes out of the vacuum energy associated with the cosmological constant. We study here the corresponding Euclidean configurations ("thermalons"), and calculate the probability for the process in the leading semiclassical approximation.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures. Minor correction

Between-hospital variation in indicators of quality of care: a systematic review

Background: Efforts to mitigate unwarranted variation in the quality of care require insight into the 'level' (eg, patient, physician, ward, hospital) at which observed variation exists. This systematic literature review aims to synthesise the results of studies that quantify the extent to which hospitals contribute to variation in quality indicator scores. Methods: Embase, Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane and Google Scholar were systematically searched from 2010 to November 2023. We included studies that reported a measure of between-hospital variation in quality indicator scores relative to total variation, typically expressed as a variance partition coefficient (VPC). The results were analysed by disease category and quality indicator type. Results: In total, 8373 studies were reviewed, of which 44 met the inclusion criteria. Casemix adjusted variation was studied for multiple disease categories using 144 indicators, divided over 5 types: intermediate clinical outcomes (n=81), final clinical outcomes (n=35), processes (n=10), patient-reported experiences (n=15) and patient-reported outcomes (n=3). In addition to an analysis of between-hospital variation, eight studies also reported physician-level variation (n=54 estimates). In general, variation that could be attributed to hospitals was limited (median VPC=3%, IQR=1%-9%). Between-hospital variation was highest for process indicators (17.4%, 10.8%-33.5%) and lowest for final clinical outcomes (1.4%, 0.6%-4.2%) and patient-reported outcomes (1.0%, 0.9%-1.5%). No clear pattern could be identified in the degree of between-hospital variation by disease category. Furthermore, the studies exhibited limited attention to the reliability of observed differences in indicator scores. Conclusion: Hospital-level variation in quality indicator scores is generally small relative to residual variation. However, meaningful variation between hospitals does exist for multiple indicators, especially for care processes which can be directly influenced by hospital policy. Quality improvement strategies are likely to generate more impact if preceded by level-specific and indicator-specific analyses of variation, and when absolute variation is also considered. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022315850.</p

'No coughing for me, but I'm okay!': a human service worker's narrative exploration of her own and other workers' body stories told in a domestic violence service

Relational, body-oriented and brain-based approaches to recovery and change are increasingly popular modalities for working with traumatised children and adults. However, although these approaches encourage the awareness, and the harnessing of workers' visceral experiences, there is little in the literature to describe how practitioners navigate their own somatic maps. In a research project undertaken from 2008–16, I invited nine human service workers to tell and explore stories about their own experiences of the body that emerged during, and/or in relation to, their own professional practice. A narrative methodology was used to help facilitate a depth of understanding of how the participants used their own bodies as a source of knowledge and/or as an intervention strategy with those with whom they worked. In this paper, I explore one of many stories told by Coral in which she describes the processes she uses to navigate her own somatic map as she interacts with clients and workers in a domestic violence service. I conclude that creating spaces for workers to explore embodied experience in the professional conversation is important, but is difficult without an acceptable discourse or narrative template. Nonetheless, given the opportunity, including the 'body as subject' encourages better outcomes for clients and provides richer accounts of human service workers' professional experience