Reduction of Femoral Fractures in Long-Term Care Facilities: The Bavarian Fracture Prevention Study

BACKGROUND: Hip fractures are a major public health burden. In industrialized countries about 20% of all femoral fractures occur in care dependent persons living in nursing care and assisted living facilities. Preventive strategies for these groups are needed as the access to medical services differs from independent home dwelling older persons at risk of osteoporotic fractures. It was the objective of the study to evaluate the effect of a fall and fracture prevention program on the incidence of femoral fracture in nursing homes in Bavaria, Germany. METHODS: In a translational intervention study a fall prevention program was introduced in 256 nursing homes with 13,653 residents. The control group consisted of 893 nursing homes with 31,668 residents. The intervention consisted of staff education on fall and fracture prevention strategies, progressive strength and balance training, and on institutional advice on environmental adaptations. Incident femoral fractures served as outcome measure. RESULTS: In the years before the intervention risk of a femoral fracture did not differ between the intervention group (IG) and control group (CG). During the one-year intervention period femoral fracture rates were 33.6 (IG) and 41.0/1000 person years (CG), respectively. The adjusted relative risk of a femoral fracture was 0.82 (95% CI 0.72-0.93) in residents exposed to the fall and fracture prevention program compared to residents from CG. CONCLUSIONS: The state-wide dissemination of a multi-factorial fall and fracture prevention program was able to reduce femoral fractures in residents of nursing homes

Repurposing the Open Global Health Library for the discovery of novel Mpro destabilizers with scope as broad-spectrum antivirals

The SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic remains globally active. The emergence of new variants of interest and variants of concern (VoCs), which are potentially more vaccine-resistant and less sensitive to existing treatments, is evident due to their high prevalence. The prospective spread of such variants and other coronaviruses with epidemic potential demands preparedness that can be met by developing fast-track workflows to find new candidates that target viral proteins with a clear in vitro and in vivo phenotype. Mpro (or 3CLpro) is directly involved in the viral replication cycle and the production and function of viral polyproteins, which makes it an ideal target. The biological relevance of Mpro is highly conserved among betacoronaviruses like HCoV-OC43 and SARS-CoV-2, which makes the identification of new chemical scaffolds targeting them a good starting point for designing broad-spectrum antivirals. We report an optimized methodology based on orthogonal cell-free assays to identify small molecules that inhibit the binding pockets of both SARS-CoV-2-Mpro and HCoV-OC43-Mpro; this blockade correlates with antiviral activities in HCoV-OC43 cellular models. By using such a fast-tracking approach against the Open Global Health Library (Merck KGaA), we have found evidence of the antiviral activity of compound OGHL98. In silico studies dissecting intermolecular interactions between OGHL98 and both proteases and comprising docking and molecular dynamics simulations (MDSs) concluded that the binding mode was primarily governed by conserved H-bonds with their C-terminal amino acids and that the rational design of OGHL98 has potential against VoCs proteases resistant to current therapeutics.The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. DG-P’s laboratory and research have been funded by the European Commission—Next Generation EU (regulation EU 2020/2094) through CSIC’s Global Health Platform (PTI Salud Global), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa-Red de Investigación Cooperativa en Enfermedades Tropicales (RICET: RD16/0027/ 0014), and the MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, and by the grants PID2019-109623RB-I00, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033, and FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa (2016- 79957-R), and PID2022-142971OB-I00, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, UE, and by the Junta de Andalucía (BIO- 199). DR’s research has been funded by the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT), grant number 1220656, and the Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (ANID), grant number COVID0199.Peer reviewe

Target 2035-update on the quest for a probe for every protein

Twenty years after the publication of the first draft of the human genome, our knowledge of the human proteome is still fragmented. The challenge of translating the wealth of new knowledge from genomics into new medicines is that proteins, and not genes, are the primary executers of biological function. Therefore, much of how biology works in health and disease must be understood through the lens of protein function. Accordingly, a subset of human proteins has been at the heart of research interests of scientists over the centuries, and we have accumulated varying degrees of knowledge about approximately 65% of the human proteome. Nevertheless, a large proportion of proteins in the human proteome (∼35%) remains uncharacterized, and less than 5% of the human proteome has been successfully targeted for drug discovery. This highlights the profound disconnect between our abilities to obtain genetic information and subsequent development of effective medicines. Target 2035 is an international federation of biomedical scientists from the public and private sectors, which aims to address this gap by developing and applying new technologies to create by year 2035 chemogenomic libraries, chemical probes, and/or biological probes for the entire human proteome

Digitalisierung beruflicher Lern- und Arbeitsprozesse. Impulse aus der Bauwirtschaft und anderen gewerblich-technischen Sektoren

Der Sammelband stellt aktuelle Ansätze zum digital unterstützten beruflichen Lernen dar. Die Beiträge geben Einblicke in die dynamische Entwicklung der Schnittstellen von Erwerbsarbeit und beruflicher Aus-, Fort- und Weiterbildung im Kontext der Digitalisierung Arbeits- und Lernmitteln. Der Band schließt damit an die 2019 ebenfalls im Universitätsverlag der Technischen Universität Berlin erschienene Publikation „Berufsbildung am Bau digital“ (hrsg. von Bernd Mahrin und Johannes Meyser) an. Das erste Kapitel erörtert grundsätzliche didaktische Fragen zu digital unterstütztem Lernen und Arbeiten einschließlich der Rahmenbedingungen. Im zweiten Kapitel schließen sich Beiträge zur Kapazitätsentwicklung, zu Standards und zu digitalen Werkzeugen an. Das dritte Kapitel widmet sich konkreten Einzellösungen mit starkem Praxisbezug und hohem Transferpotenzial zum digitalisierten Arbeiten und Lernen im Bausektor und im Metallbereich. Das abschließende vierte Kapitel präsentiert übergreifend nutzbare und frei zugängliche Online-Angebote wie einen Medienpool für Bildungszwecke, eine Lernmedien-Datenbank und ein hybrides Lernsystem mit virtuellem 3D-Gebäudemodell. Das Buch ist entstanden im Rahmen des durch das Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung und den Europäischen Sozialfonds geförderten Projektes DigiBAU – Digitales Bauberufliches Lernen und Arbeiten. (DIPF/Orig.)The anthology presents current approaches to digitally supported professional learning. The articles provide insights into the dynamic development of the interfaces between gainful employment and vocational training and further education in the context of digitization of work and learning aids. The volume is thus connected to the publication “Berufsbildung am Bau digital” (edited by Bernd Mahrin and Johannes Meyser), which was published in 2019 by the University Press of the Technische Universität Berlin. The first chapter discusses fundamental didactic questions about digitally supported learning and working, including the framework conditions. The second chapter picks contributions on capacity development, standards, and digital tools out as central themes. The third chapter is dedicated to concrete specific solutions with strong practical relevance and high transfer potential for digitized work and learning in the construction sector and in the metal sector. The final fourth chapter presents comprehensive and freely accessible online offers such as a media pool for educational purposes, a learning media database and a hybrid learning system with a virtual 3D building model. The book was created as part of the DigiBAU project - digital vocational learning and working in the field of construction - funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the European Social Fund. (DIPF/Orig.

Försvara Gemenskaperna

Gentrification is a controversial phenomenon. Some are in favor of the process as a means of urban revaluation and creator of a social mix while others condemn it as a strategy that only benefits one group: the (upper) middle class. Moreover, gentrification’s emergence is a controversial topic. While some researchers describe it as a policy and therefore a political agenda, others claim it is a shift of the market and thus a basic economic happening in the urban environment. However, observers are united by the opinion that gentrification needs to be controlled and negative impacts for residents need to be prevented. Two of such anti-gentrification measures used in London and Berlin shall be analyzed. Do they feature any potential weaknesses that could diminish their competence? Thus, essential actions against gentrification will be summarized, including improvements of the measures, which will be based on policies, activism and concepts of housing. However, it is to be identified how successfully the anti-gentrification measures are applied in these cities? An analysis of the measure’s publicity shall highlight the citizens knowledge about these methods as it is required for a successful application

Försvara Gemenskaperna

Gentrification is a controversial phenomenon. Some are in favor of the process as a means of urban revaluation and creator of a social mix while others condemn it as a strategy that only benefits one group: the (upper) middle class. Moreover, gentrification’s emergence is a controversial topic. While some researchers describe it as a policy and therefore a political agenda, others claim it is a shift of the market and thus a basic economic happening in the urban environment. However, observers are united by the opinion that gentrification needs to be controlled and negative impacts for residents need to be prevented. Two of such anti-gentrification measures used in London and Berlin shall be analyzed. Do they feature any potential weaknesses that could diminish their competence? Thus, essential actions against gentrification will be summarized, including improvements of the measures, which will be based on policies, activism and concepts of housing. However, it is to be identified how successfully the anti-gentrification measures are applied in these cities? An analysis of the measure’s publicity shall highlight the citizens knowledge about these methods as it is required for a successful application

Försvara Gemenskaperna

Gentrification is a controversial phenomenon. Some are in favor of the process as a means of urban revaluation and creator of a social mix while others condemn it as a strategy that only benefits one group: the (upper) middle class. Moreover, gentrification’s emergence is a controversial topic. While some researchers describe it as a policy and therefore a political agenda, others claim it is a shift of the market and thus a basic economic happening in the urban environment. However, observers are united by the opinion that gentrification needs to be controlled and negative impacts for residents need to be prevented. Two of such anti-gentrification measures used in London and Berlin shall be analyzed. Do they feature any potential weaknesses that could diminish their competence? Thus, essential actions against gentrification will be summarized, including improvements of the measures, which will be based on policies, activism and concepts of housing. However, it is to be identified how successfully the anti-gentrification measures are applied in these cities? An analysis of the measure’s publicity shall highlight the citizens knowledge about these methods as it is required for a successful application

RadVerS - Mit Smartphones generierte Verhaltensdaten im Verkehr – Differenzierung des Nutzerverhaltens unterschiedlicher RadfahrerInnengruppen : Teil II: Feldstudie zum Radverkehrsverhalten

Der vorliegende Forschungsbericht fasst die Vorbereitung, Durchführung und Auswertung einer Feldstudie zum Thema Radverhaltensforschung mittels GPS Daten zusammen. Ziel des Teil-Projektes war es zu prüfen, welche Parameter auf Personenebene Einfluss auf das Radverkehrsverhalten haben