Exploring the orientation in space: mixing focused ethnography and surveys in social experiment

This paper discusses how focused ethnography and surveys can be mixed within a social experiment in order to explore orientation in space as a social process (and not only as a cognitive one) and to examine the role maps have during this process. Our research design is based on a three-step interdisciplinary methodology, mixing cartographic methods with surveys and ethnography: (1) Cartographers developed maps for several paths through a Berlin university building from the ground floor (starting point) to the roof-top (finish). (2) Between 2009 and 2013, a social experiment was set up during five social events that drew lots of visitors. Volunteers first answered a questionnaire and then participated in a race from the starting point to the finish, using a randomly assigned map and a randomly assigned route (factorial design without control group). At the finish area, respondents answered another set of survey questions and evaluated the assigned maps. (3) Along the selected routes, members of the research team conducted focused ethnography in order to observe interaction among respondents, between other people, the map and the built environment. Comparing these various data sources, we will discuss what methods are suitable to find answers to our research questions, which are among others: How does orientation work? What strategies do people use? What should maps for (indoor) navigation look like in order to satisfy user’s needs? Afterwards we will present selected results

Performance of Different Carbon Electrode Materials: Insights into Stability and Degradation under Real Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Operating Conditions

This work focuses on the performance and stability of selected commercial carbon electrode materials before and after heat-treatment in an operating all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRB). Heat treatment results in improved cell performance for all tested materials, with SGL 39 AA carbon papers and SIGRACELL GFD4.6 EA carbon felt showing the best performance. Further investigation of these two materials by in situ reference electrode measurements reveal improvements after heat-treatment that originate mainly from the negative electrode or V2+/V3+ side of the cell. Upon extended cycling, carbon felt is found to be stable. Carbon papers however, show significant performance losses originating from the negative electrode side. The potential limit during charging and the exposure to very negative potentials appears to be a critical issue at the negative electrode in the VRB. Analysis of both materials after cycling by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveal significant differences in their surface chemistry, structure and morphology. These differences give valuable insights into the behavior and degradation of different carbon materials used in VRBs.ISSN:0013-4651ISSN:1945-711

Comparison of 'Mental training' and physical practice in the mediation of a structured facial examination : a quasi randomized, blinded and controlled study

Background: The correct performance of a structured facial examination presents a fundamental clinical skill to detect facial pathologies. However, many students are not adequately prepared in this basic clinical skill. Many argue that the traditional ‘See One, Do One’ approach is not sufficient to fully master a clinical skill. ‘Mental Training’ has successfully been used to train psychomotor and technical skills in sports and other surgical fields, but its use in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is not described. We conducted a quasi-experimental to determine if ‘Mental Training’ was effective in teaching a structured facial examination. Methods: Sixty-seven students were randomly assigned to a ‘Mental Training’ and ‘See One, Do One’ group. Both groups received standardized video instruction on how to perform a structured facial examination. The ‘See One, Do One’ group then received 60 min of guided physical practice while the ‘Mental Training’ group actively developed a detailed, stepwise sequence of the performance of a structured facial examination and visualized this sequence subvocally before practicing the skill. Student performance was measured shortly after (T1) and five to 10 weeks (T2) after the training by two blinded examiners (E1 and E2) using a validated checklist. Results: Groups did not differ in gender, age or in experience. The ‘Mental Training’ group averaged significantly more points in T1 (pE1 = 0.00012; pE2 = 0.004; dE1 = 0.86; dE2 = 0.66) and T2 (pE1 = 0.04; pE2 = 0.008, dE1 = 0.37; dE2 = 0.64) than the ‘See One, Do One’ group. The intragroup comparison showed a significant (pE1 = 0.0002; pE2 = 0.06, dE1 = 1.07; dE2 = 0.50) increase in clinical examination skills in the ‘See One, Do One’ group, while the ‘Mental Training’ group maintained an already high level of clinical examination skills between T1 and T2. Discussion: ‘Mental Training’ is an efficient tool to teach and maintain basic clinical skills. In this study ‘Mental Training’ was shown to be superior to the commonly used ‘See One, Do One’ approach in learning how to perform a structured facial examination and should therefore be considered more often to teach physical examination skills

A Recurrent Case of Targetoid Hemosiderotic Hemangioma: A Case Report and a Comprehensive Review of the Literature

Targetoid hemosiderotic hemangioma is an acquired vascular malformation of unknown origin. We report the case of a 31-year-old man with a recurrent and spontaneous regressive targetoid hemosiderotic hemangioma. Diagnosis relied on clinical and histological findings. Physical examination revealed presence of an approximately 2 cm targetoid lesion located on the left arm, and associated with pain after pressure. No trigger agent (trauma, insect sting) was reported. Dermoscopy showed a group of red lacunae centrally, encircled by an intermediate yellow circular homogenous area and a red violaceous homogenous ring in the periphery. The histopathological examination and the immunohistochemical staining of the lesion were characteristic for a hemangioma-like proliferation of vessels in the upper part of the dermis, similar to a targetoid hemosiderotic angioma. We also review epidemiological, clinical, and histopathological findings in 6 similar cases presented in the literature. Spontaneous regression and recurrence have rarely been described in this type of skin lesion

LINC01133 inhibits invasion and promotes proliferation in an endometriosis epithelial cell line

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disorder characterized by ectopic growth of endometrium outside the uterus and is associated with chronic pain and infertility. We investigated the role of the long intergenic noncoding RNA 01133 (LINC01133) in endometriosis, an lncRNA that has been implicated in several types of cancer. We found that LINC01133 is upregulated in ectopic endometriotic lesions. As expression appeared higher in the epithelial endometrial layer, we performed a siRNA knockdown of LINC01133 in an endometriosis epithelial cell line. Phenotypic assays indicated that LINC01133 may promote proliferation and suppress cellular migration, and affect the cytoskeleton and morphology of the cells. Gene ontology analysis of differentially expressed genes indicated that cell proliferation and migration pathways were affected in line with the observed phenotype. We validated upregulation of p21 and downregulation of Cyclin A at the protein level, which together with the quantification of the DNA content using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis indicated that the observed effects on cellular proliferation may be due to changes in cell cycle. Further, we found testis-specific protein kinase 1 (TESK1) kinase upregulation corresponding with phosphorylation and inactivation of actin severing protein Cofilin, which could explain changes in the cytoskeleton and cellular migration. These results indicate that endometriosis is associated with LINC01133 upregulation, which may affect pathogenesis via the cellular proliferation and migration pathways

Integrating biological vasculature into a multi-organ-chip microsystem

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.A chip-based system mimicking the transport function of the human cardiovascular system has been established at minute but standardized microsystem scale. A peristaltic on-chip micropump generates pulsatile shear stress in a widely adjustable physiological range within a microchannel circuit entirely covered on all fluid contact surfaces with human dermal microvascular endothelial cells. This microvascular transport system can be reproducibly established within four days, independently of the individual endothelial cell donor background. It interconnects two standard tissue culture compartments, each of 5 mm diameter, through microfluidic channels of 500 μm width. Further vessel branching and vessel diameter reduction down to a microvessel scale of approximately 40 μm width was realised by a two-photon laser ablation technique applied to inserts, designed for the convenient establishment of individual organ equivalents in the tissue culture compartments at a later time. The chip layout ensures physiological fluid-to-tissue ratios. Moreover, an in-depth microscopic analysis revealed the fine-tuned adjustment of endothelial cell behaviour to local shear stresses along the microvasculature of the system. Time-lapse and 3D imaging two-photon microscopy were used to visualise details of spatiotemporal adherence of the endothelial cells to the channel system and to each other. The first indicative long-term experiments revealed stable performance over two and four weeks. The potential application of this system for the future establishment of human-on-a-chip systems and basic human endothelial cell research is discussed.BMBF, 0315569, GO-Bio 3: Multi-Organ-Bioreaktoren für die prädiktive Substanztestung im Chipforma

Dynamic culture of human liver equivalents inside a micro-bioreactor for long-term substance testing : From 23rd European Society for Animal Cell Technology (ESACT) Meeting: Better Cells for Better Health Lille, France. 23-26 June 2013

Published by BioMed Central: Materne, Eva-Maria et al.: Dynamic culture of human liver equivalents inside a micro-bioreactor for longterm substance testing. - In: BMC Proceedings. - ISSN 1753-6561 (online). - 7 (2012), suppl. 6, art. P72. - doi:10.1186/1753-6561-7-S6-P72

Chip-based human liver-intestine and liver-skin co-culture : A first step toward systemic repeated dose substance testing in vitro

Systemic repeated dose safety assessment and systemic efficacy evaluation of substances are currently carried out on laboratory animals and in humans due to the lack of predictive alternatives. Relevant international regulations, such as OECD and ICH guidelines, demand long-term testing and oral, dermal, inhalation, and systemic exposure routes for such evaluations. So-called “human-on-a-chip” concepts are aiming to replace respective animals and humans in substance evaluation with miniaturized functional human organisms. The major technical hurdle toward success in this field is the life-like combination of human barrier organ models, such as intestine, lung or skin, with parenchymal organ equivalents, such as liver, at the smallest biologically acceptable scale. Here, we report on a reproducible homeostatic long-term co-culture of human liver equivalents with either a reconstructed human intestinal barrier model or a human skin biopsy applying a microphysiological system. We used a multi-organ chip (MOC) platform, which provides pulsatile fluid flow within physiological ranges at low media-to-tissue ratios. The MOC supports submerse cultivation of an intact intestinal barrier model and an air–liquid interface for the skin model during their co-culture with the liver equivalents respectively at 1/100.000 the scale of their human counterparts in vivo. To increase the degree of organismal emulation, microfluidic channels of the liver–skin co-culture could be successfully covered with human endothelial cells, thus mimicking human vasculature, for the first time. Finally, exposure routes emulating oral and systemic administration in humans have been qualified by applying a repeated dose administration of a model substance – troglitazone – to the chip-based co-cultures.BMBF/0315569/GO-Bio 3: Multi-Organ-Bioreaktoren für die prädiktive Substanztestung im Chipforma

A four-organ-chip for interconnected long-term co-culture of human intestine, liver, skin and kidney equivalents

Systemic absorption and metabolism of drugs in the small intestine, metabolism by the liver as well as excretion by the kidney are key determinants of efficacy and safety for therapeutic candidates. However, these systemic responses of applied substances lack in most in vitro assays. In this study, a microphysiological system maintaining the functionality of four organs over 28 days in co-culture has been established at a minute but standardized microsystem scale. Preformed human intestine and skin models have been integrated into the four-organ-chip on standard cell culture inserts at a size 100000-fold smaller than their human counterpart organs. A 3D-based spheroid, equivalent to ten liver lobules, mimics liver function. Finally, a barrier segregating the media flow through the organs from fluids excreted by the kidney has been generated by a polymeric membrane covered by a monolayer of human proximal tubule epithelial cells. A peristaltic on-chip micropump ensures pulsatile media flow interconnecting the four tissue culture compartments through microfluidic channels. A second microfluidic circuit ensures drainage of the fluid excreted through the kidney epithelial cell layer. This four-organ-chip system assures near to physiological fluid-to-tissue ratios. In-depth metabolic and gene analysis revealed the establishment of reproducible homeostasis among the co-cultures within two to four days, sustainable over at least 28 days independent of the individual human cell line or tissue donor background used for each organ equivalent. Lastly, 3D imaging two-photon microscopy visualised details of spatiotemporal segregation of the two microfluidic flows by proximal tubule epithelia. To our knowledge, this study is the first approach to establish a system for in vitro microfluidic ADME profiling and repeated dose systemic toxicity testing of drug candidates over 28 days.BMBF, 0315569, GO-Bio 3: Multi-Organ-Bioreaktoren für die prädiktive Substanztestung im Chipforma

3rd Helmholtz Open Science Forum „Helmholtz in the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI)“

To promote dialogue on the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) in the Helmholtz Association, the Helmholtz Open Science Office hosted two digital Forums in May and December 2021. The office has organized a third Forum on the topic on June 22, 2023. The objective of this event was to offer insights into the NFDI activities within the Helmholtz Association, presented from the internal perspectives of the Centers. Multiple Helmholtz Centers shared their experiences, fostering an interactive environment for questions and discussions. Furthermore, there were contributions highlighting the Base4NFDI basic service consortium