‘Finding my own way’: mobilization of cultural capital through migrant organizations in Germany

Migrant organizations MOs), as associations that are founded, managed, and led by people with migration biographies, have recently emerged as facilitators of social protection interventions. This article is devoted to this barely debated issue of MOs in the field of social protection, by emphasizing their role in facilitating the mobilization and access to cultural capital as an important determinant of protection and wellbeing of people with migration biographies. Specifically, we study how MOs promote the formation and mobilization of skills and resources to be used in different fields, in particular in the education and labor markets. We find that MOs facilitate various occasions for their members to generate migration-specific cultural capital, predominantly in the field of education and language skills. MOs also promote the creation and institutionalization of cultural capital on the labor market. In addition, our results show that people with a migration background appreciate their participation in migrants’ organizations, because they allow them to pursue their own projects and find their own way through the different phases of migration and settlement, in often challenging environments

‘Finding My Own Way’: Mobilization of Cultural Capital through Migrant Organizations in Germany

Migrant organizations (MOs), as associations that are founded, managed, and led by people with migration biographies, have recently emerged as facilitators of social protection interventions. This article is devoted to this barely debated issue of MOs in the field of social protection, by emphasizing their role in facilitating the mobilization and access to cultural capital as an important determinant of protection and wellbeing of people with migration biographies. Specifically, we study how MOs promote the formation and mobilization of skills and resources to be used in different fields, in particular in the education and labor markets. We find that MOs facilitate various occasions for their members to generate migration-specific cultural capital, predominantly in the field of education and language skills. MOs also promote the creation and institutionalization of cultural capital on the labor market. In addition, our results show that people with a migration background appreciate their participation in migrants’ organizations, because they allow them to pursue their own projects and find their own way through the different phases of migration and settlement, in often challenging environments

Circle of Willis variants and their association with outcome in patients with middle cerebral artery-M1-occlusion stroke

BACKGROUND: An incomplete circle of Willis (CoW) has been associated with a higher risk of stroke and might affect collateral flow in large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke. We aimed to investigate the distribution of CoW variants in a LVO stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) cohort and analyze their impact on 3-month functional outcome. METHODS: CoW anatomy was assessed with time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF-MRA) in 193 stroke patients with acute middle cerebral artery (MCA)-M1-occlusion receiving endovascular treatment (EVT) and 73 TIA patients without LVO. The main CoW variants were categorized into four vascular models of presumed collateral flow via the CoW. RESULTS: 82.4% (n = 159) of stroke and 72.6% (n = 53) of TIA patients had an incomplete CoW. Most variants affected the posterior circulation (stroke: 77.2%, n = 149; TIA: 58.9%, n = 43; p = 0.004). Initial stroke severity defined by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) on admission was similar for patients with and without CoW variants. CoW integrity did not differ between groups with favorable (modified Rankin Scale [mRS]): 0-2) and unfavorable (mRS: 3-6) 3-month outcome. However, we found trends towards a higher mortality in patients with any type of CoW variant (p = 0.08) and a higher frequency of incomplete CoW among patients dying within 3 months after stroke onset (p = 0.119). In a logistic regression analysis adjusted for the potential confounders age, sex and atrial fibrillation, neither the vascular models nor anterior or posterior variants were independently associated with outcome. CONCLUSION: Our data provide no evidence for an association of CoW variants with clinical outcome in LVO stroke patients receiving EVT

Circle of Willis variants and their association with outcome in patients with middle cerebral artery-M1-occlusion stroke.

BACKGROUND An incomplete circle of Willis (CoW) has been associated with a higher risk of stroke and might affect collateral flow in large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke. We aimed to investigate the distribution of CoW variants in a LVO stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) cohort and analyze their impact on 3-month functional outcome. METHODS CoW anatomy was assessed with time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF-MRA) in 193 stroke patients with acute middle cerebral artery (MCA)-M1-occlusion receiving endovascular treatment (EVT) and 73 TIA patients without LVO. The main CoW variants were categorized into four vascular models of presumed collateral flow via the CoW. RESULTS 82.4% (n = 159) of stroke and 72.6% (n = 53) of TIA patients had an incomplete CoW. Most variants affected the posterior circulation (stroke: 77.2%, n = 149; TIA: 58.9%, n = 43; p = 0.004). Initial stroke severity defined by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) on admission was similar for patients with and without CoW variants. CoW integrity did not differ between groups with favorable (modified Rankin Scale [mRS]): 0-2) and unfavorable (mRS: 3-6) 3-month outcome. However, we found trends towards a higher mortality in patients with any type of CoW variant (p = 0.08) and a higher frequency of incomplete CoW among patients dying within 3 months after stroke onset (p = 0.119). In a logistic regression analysis adjusted for the potential confounders age, sex and atrial fibrillation, neither the vascular models nor anterior or posterior variants were independently associated with outcome. CONCLUSION Our data provide no evidence for an association of CoW variants with clinical outcome in LVO stroke patients receiving EVT

Application and Validation of the Matrix-based Product Description in a Case Study by Using the Software Loomeo

AbstractThe main task of product developers is to meet the ever increasing demands on quality, cost and functionality of technical products by setting the appropriate characteristics in order to realize the product properties desired by the customer. The overall objective of the authors is to develop a suitable procedure model for property-based product development, which guides the developers purposefully through the development process. An essential part of this procedure model is the matrix-based product description, which is in the focus of this paper. The matrix-based product description is basically a so-called multi domain matrix. By using this matrix-based product description, dependencies between requirements, behaviors of the product and the product's properties and characteristics can be mapped and analyzed systematically during the product development process. Thereby, for example, the effects of characteristic changes on product properties become visible and traceable and also differential requirements are set into relationship with properties and characteristics of the product.However, it has been shown that the manual filling of the matrix-based product description is very time-consuming. Hence, a computer-aided support is indispensable. For this reason, the software Loomeo is used in this paper to investigate its potential for IT support for the matrix-based product description. The interaction of dependencies between characteristics, properties and the resulting behavior is demonstrated in this paper through the matrix-based product description using the example of a front wheel suspension of a car. Thus, the strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and risks of Loomeo regarding the suitability of the IT-based matrix-based product description can be determined. The findings from both the application as well as from the evaluation of the software are the basis for the improvement and extension of the matrix-based product description

‘Finding My Own Way’: Mobilization of Cultural Capital through <i>Migrant Organizations</i> in Germany

Migrant organizations (MOs), as associations that are founded, managed, and led by people with migration biographies, have recently emerged as facilitators of social protection interventions. This article is devoted to this barely debated issue of MOs in the field of social protection, by emphasizing their role in facilitating the mobilization and access to cultural capital as an important determinant of protection and wellbeing of people with migration biographies. Specifically, we study how MOs promote the formation and mobilization of skills and resources to be used in different fields, in particular in the education and labor markets. We find that MOs facilitate various occasions for their members to generate migration-specific cultural capital, predominantly in the field of education and language skills. MOs also promote the creation and institutionalization of cultural capital on the labor market. In addition, our results show that people with a migration background appreciate their participation in migrants’ organizations, because they allow them to pursue their own projects and find their own way through the different phases of migration and settlement, in often challenging environments

Phototherapeutische Keratektomie bei rezidivierenden Hornhauterosionen verschiedener epithelialer Genese: Einfluss der Ablationstiefe auf Pachymetrie und Refraktion

Background Phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) is an established treatment method for patients suffering from either genetic corneal dystrophy or recurrent corneal erosion (RCE) without underlying basement membrane dystrophy, often caused by trauma. Objective This study aimed to describe the changes in manifest subjective refraction and pachymetry after PTK treatment in patients suffering from epithelial basement membrane dystrophy (EBMD) and traumatic or atraumatic RCE without underlying EBMD. Material and methods This was a retrospective, single-center study performed at the Department of Ophthalmology of the Ludwig-Maximilians University (Munich). Patient data were retrospective collected using the smart-eye database of the Department of Ophthalmology including diagnostic data from an autorefractometer and from the Pentacam HR. All laser treatments were performed with an ablation depth of 10 mu m for EBMD patients and 6 mu m for RCE patients without EBMD. Results Both collectives showed a decrease in pachymetry larger than the calculated ablation depths after a follow-up interval of 126 days (95% CI 104-147 days). While the EBMD collective receiving an ablation of 10 mu m showed a decrease of 25.8 mu m (N = 74;95% CI 21.2-30.3;p < 0.001), the non-EBMD collective receiving an ablation of 6 mu m showed a decrease of 12.3 mu m (N = 44, 95% CI 7.0-17.7;p < 0.001). Both, total corneal refractive power (TCRP) as well as spherical equivalent (SE) offered no significant change in preoperative and postoperative comparison for the EBMD collective. On the other hand, patients without underlying EBMD showed a significant myopic decrease in SE of 0.4 dpt (+/- 0.7 dpt SD, p < 0.05). The mean follow-up interval was 126 days (95% CI 104-147 days). Conclusion PTK treatment offers an effective method for patients suffering from either EBMD dystrophy or RCE syndrome without underlying EBMD. The final ablation based on pachymetry at the apex can be estimated at 2.3 to 2.6 times higher compared to the original ablation depth. The reasons for this are on the one hand the laser ablation itself and the influence of the reactive wound healing of the corneal epithelium

Optimizing Refractive Outcomes of SMILE: Artificial Intelligence versus Conventional State-of-the-Art Nomograms

Luft N, Mohr N, Spiegel E, et al. Optimizing Refractive Outcomes of SMILE: Artificial Intelligence versus Conventional State-of-the-Art Nomograms. Current Eye Research. 2023:1-8