TALKING INSTITUTIONS IN THE SHARING ECONOMY: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF ACTOR QUOTES IN THE PRINT MEDIA AND A TAXONOMY OF DISCURSIVE STRATEGIES

We study how actors engage in institutional work to manage legitimacy by influencing media discourse in the face of discontinuous innovation. We content-analyze actor quotes reproduced in newspaper articles about the ‘sharing economy’ in the taxi and lodging industries to survey this aspect of media discourse and offer a taxonomy of the discursive strategies used in the public debate on institutional change. We find that actor quotes are dominantly from offensive actors striving for institutional change, mostly due to a relatively low share of voice of incumbent firms as defensive actors aiming at institutional maintenance. Whereas offensive actors aimed for legitimacy in their discursive strategies by balancing attacks on existing institutions with assertions of new institutions, defensive actors aimed for legitimacy more by attacking new institutions than by reinforcing existing ones. Our findings suggest that, contrary to prior beliefs, preventing the emergence of new institutions plays a crucial role for defensive institutional work

Accelerating dynamics of collective attention

The impacts of technological development on social sphere lack strong empirical foundation. Here the authors presented quantitative analysis of the phenomenon of social acceleration across a range of digital datasets and found that interest appears in bursts that dissipate on decreasing timescales and occur with increasing frequency

Micro-electromechanical affinity sensor for the monitoring of glucose in bioprocess media

An affinity-viscometry-based micro-sensor probe for continuous glucose monitoring was investigated with respect to its suitability for bioprocesses. The sensor operates with glucose and dextran competing as binding partner for concanavalin A, while the viscosity of the assay scales with glucose concentration. Changes in viscosity are determined with a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) in the measurement cavity of the sensor probe. The study aimed to elucidate the interactions between the assay and a typical phosphate buffered bacterial cultivation medium. It turned out that contact with the medium resulted in a significant long-lasting drift of the assay’s viscosity at zero glucose concentration. Adding glucose to the medium lowers the drift by a factor of eight. The cglc values measured off-line with the glucose sensor for monitoring of a bacterial cultivation were similar to the measurements with an enzymatic assay with a difference of less than ±0.15 g·L−1. We propose that lectin agglomeration, the electro-viscous effect, and constitutional changes of concanavalin A due to exchanges of the incorporated metal ions may account for the observed viscosity increase. The study has demonstrated the potential of the MEMS sensor to determine sensitive viscosity changes within very small sample volumes, which could be of interest for various biotechnological applications.DFG, 325093850, Open Access Publizieren 2017 - 2018 / Technische Universität Berli

Intervention effects maintenance: 6-month randomized controlled trial follow-up of standard and reflexive pelvic floor muscle training

BACKGROUND To date, the focus of pelvic floor muscle training for women suffering from stress urinary incontinence has been on voluntary contractions although involuntary pelvic floor muscle contractions are crucial to guarantee continence in high-impact situations typically triggering this condition. The authors developed 2 pelvic floor muscle home training programs, one including standard voluntary pelvic floor muscle training and one including involuntary reflexive pelvic floor muscle training. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to test 2 pelvic floor muscle home training programs regarding maintenance of effects of a previous 16-week intervention in terms of stress urinary incontinence symptoms (International Consultation on Incontinence Modular Questionnaire—Urinary Incontinence short form, modified 20-minute pad test), impact on quality of life (Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Quality of Life module), and digitally assessed pelvic floor muscle strength. STUDY DESIGN This trial was a continuation of a previously published triple-blind prospective randomized controlled trial with a 6-month evaluation endpoint with 2 intervention groups (experimental group with involuntary reflexive home pelvic floor muscle training and control group with standard voluntary home pelvic floor muscle training). RESULTS From the originally included 96 randomized and allocated participants (experimental group=46, control group=46), 33 control and 27 experimental participants completed the 6-month follow-up. From post–16-week physiotherapy intervention to 6-month follow-up (home pelvic floor muscle training), there were statistically significant improvements in pelvic floor muscle strength (control and experimental group), and no difference in the International Consultation on Incontinence Modular Questionnaire—Urinary Incontinence short form and pad test, or the Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Quality of Life module Part B (control and experimental group) and Part A (control group). However, there was a statistically significant improvement in the Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Quality of Life module Part A (experimental group). At no point in time (pre, post, follow-up) was there any statistically significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSION Both groups could maintain their intervention training effects. This trial investigated involuntary reflexive pelvic floor muscle training alone, which proved to be an effective alternative to standard voluntary pelvic floor muscle training for maintenance of training effects among women suffering from stress urinary incontinence

Real time, confocal imaging of Ca2+ waves in arterially perfused rat hearts

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize the spatio-temporal dynamics of slow Ca2+ waves (SCW's) with cellular resolution in the arterially-perfused rat heart. Methods: Wister rat hearts were Langendorff-perfused with Tyrode solution containing bovine-albumine and Dextran. The heart was loaded with the Ca2+ sensitive dye Fluo-3 AM. Intracellular fluorescence changes reflecting changes in [Ca2+]i were recorded from subepicardial tissue layers using a slit hole confocal microscope with an image intensified video camera system at image rates of up to 50/s. Results: SCW's appeared spontaneously during cardiac rest or after trains of electrical stimuli. They were initiated preferentially in the center third of the cell and propagated to the cell borders, suggesting a relation between the cell nucleus and wave initiation. They were suppressed by Ca2+ transients and their probability of occurrence increased with the Ca2+ resting level. Propagation velocity within myocytes (40 to 180 μm/s) decreased with the resting Ca2+ level. Intercellular propagation was mostly confined to two or three cells and occurred bi-directionally. Intercellular unidirectional conduction block and facilitation of SCW's was occasionally observed. On average 10 to 20% of cells showed non-synchronized simultaneous SCW's within a given area in the myocardium. Conclusions: SCW's occurring at increased levels of [Ca2+]i in normoxic or ischemic conditions are mostly confined to two or three cells in the ventricular myocardium. Spatio-temporal summation of changes in membrane potential caused by individual SCW's may underlie the generation of triggered electrical ectopic impulse

Modelling the exceptional Baltic Sea inflow events in 2002-2003

During 2002 and 2003 exceptional inflow events have been registered. In January 2003 a massive inflow of highly saline, cold and extremely oxygen‐rich water from the North Sea was recorded at Darss Sill. This event is considered to be the most important inflow since 1993. A coupled model system for the Baltic Sea region, called BALTIMOS, was developed in the frame of DEKLIM/BALTEX by linking existing model components for the atmosphere (model REMO), for the ocean including sea ice (model BSIOM), for the hydrology (model LARSIM) as well as for lakes. The model system consists of high resolution model components: 1/6° (∼18 km) with 20 vertical levels; ocean‐ice 5 km with 60 vertical levels, hydrology 1/6°. The model domain covers the whole drainage basin of the Baltic Sea as well as major parts of Europe. The exceptional inflow events have been simulated successfully with BALTIMOS. The simulation was initialized at 1st of February 2002 and the model has been run until October 2003. This period includes the exceptional warm water inflow in autumn 2002 and the major Baltic inflow in January 2003. Different inflow characteristics are presented and discussed. The simulated volume transport for the major inflow in January 2003 amounts to about 250 km3, half of which was of salinity 17 PSU which corresponds to a salt transport of 2.7 × 1012 kg

Effects of dopexamine on the intestinal microvascular blood flow and leucocyte activation in a sepsis model in rats

INTRODUCTION: Dopexamine may be a therapeutic option to improve hepatosplanchnic perfusion in sepsis. To investigate this possibility, we administered dopexamine in an experimental sepsis model in rats. METHODS: This prospective, randomized, controlled laboratory study was conducted in 42 Wistar rats. The animals were divided into three groups. Group 1 served as the control group (CON group). The animals in both groups 2 (LPS group) and 3 (DPX group) received an endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli – LPS) infusion (20 mg/kg for 15 minutes). DPX group additionally received dopexamine (0.5 μg/kg per minute over four hours). One half of the animals in each group underwent studies of intestinal microvascular blood flow (IMBF) using laser Doppler fluxmetry. In the other half an intravital microscopic evaluation of leucocyte-endothelial cell interaction in intestinal microcirculation was conducted. Functional capillary density (FCD) in the intestinal mucosa and in the circular as well as longitudinal muscle layer was estimated. RESULTS: One hour after endotoxin challenge, IMBF decreased significantly in LPS group to 51% compared with baseline (P < 0.05). In DPX group (endotoxin plus dopexamine) we found IMBF values significantly higher than those in LPS group (approximately at the level of controls). The impaired FCD following endotoxin challenge was improved by dopexamine in the longitudinal muscle layer (+33% in DPX group versus LPS group; P < 0.05) and in the circular muscle layer (+48% in DPX group versus LPS group; P < 0.05). In DPX group, dopexamine administration reduced the number of firmly adherent leucocytes (-31% versus LPS group; P < 0.05). Plasma levels of tumour necrosis factor-α were reduced by dopexamine infusion (LPS group: 3637 ± 553 pg/ml; DPX group: 1933 ± 201 pg/ml) one hour after endotoxin challenge. CONCLUSION: Dopexamine administration improved IMBF and FCD (markers of intestinal microcirculation) and reduced leucocyte activation (a marker of inflammation) in experimental sepsis

Goals of Care Documentation: Insights from A Pilot Implementation Study

ContextThe Life Sustaining Treatment Decision Initiative is a national effort by the Veterans Health Administration to ensure goals of care documentation occurs among all patients at high risk of life-threatening events. ObjectivesExamine likelihood to receive goals of care documentation and explore associations between documentation and perceived patient care experience at the individual and site level. MethodsRetrospective, quality improvement analysis of initiative pilot data from four geographically diverse Veterans Affairs (VA) sites (Fall 2014-Winter 2016) before national roll-out. Goals of care documentation according to gender, marital status, urban/rural status, race/ethnicity, age, serious health condition, and Care Assessment Needs scores. Association between goals of care documentation and perceived patient care experience analyzed based on Bereaved Family Survey outcomes of overall care, communication, and support. ResultsVeterans were more likely to have goals of care documentation if widowed, urban residents, and of white race. Patients older than 65-years and those with a higher Care Assessment Needs score were twice as likely as a frail patient to have goals of care documented. One pilot site demonstrated a positive association between documentation and perceived support. Pilot site was a statistically significant predictor of the occurrence of goals of care documentation and Bereaved Family Survey scores. ConclusionOlder and seriously ill patients were most likely to have goals of care documented. Association between a documented goals of care conversation and perceived patient care experience were largely unsupported. Site-level largely contributed to understanding the likelihood of documentation and care experience