Motivationen landwirtschaftlicher Erzeugern und Verbraucher an Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Sachsen

The intention of this research was to figure out if producers and consumers have similar ideas of Community Supported Agriculture. The motivation of participating producers and consumers was examined by means of qualitative interviews. Motivations of both groups appear in accordance and show no contradictions. In conclusion, CSA seems to be a quite stable system

Transplantation of Renal Allografts From Organ Donors Reactive for HCV Antibodies to HCV-Negative Recipients: Safety and Clinical Outcome

IntroductionBecause of the shortage of available organs for renal transplantation, strategies enabling the safe use of organs from donors with potential chronic infections such as hepatitis C are necessary. The aim of this study was to analyze the outcome of renal transplant donation from hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive donors.MethodsBetween September 2002 and May 2007, 51 kidneys (34 donors) reactive for HCV antibodies were further evaluated. Six kidneys (5 donors) were transplanted to 6 recipients with known chronic HCV infection. The remaining 29 donors underwent extended virological testing. Nine donors were HCV RNA positive and thus not suitable for HCV-negative patients. Twenty donors (21 kidneys) did not have detectable HCV RNA copies and were transplanted into 21 HCV-negative recipients. Clinical outcomes focusing on safety, allograft function, and de novo HCV infection in the recipient were collected.ResultsThere were no de novo HCV infections detected in recipients who were HCV negative before transplantation. The extended virological donor screening did not have an impact on median cold ischemia time. Five-year graft survival was 75%.DiscussionOrgans from anti-HCV-reactive, nonviremic donors can be transplanted safely to HCV-negative recipients

Anti-EBNA1 IgG titre is not associated with fatigue in multiple sclerosis patients

Introduction. Fatigue is the most frequent symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS), although it is still poorly understood due to its complexity and subjective nature. There is an urgent need to identify reliable biomarkers to improve disease prognosis and therapeutic strategies. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the major environmental risk factor associated with MS aetiology, and trials with EBV-targeted T cell therapies have reduced fatigue severity in MS patients. Aim of the study. We investigated whether the serum amount of immunoglobulin (Ig)G-specific for EBV antigens could be a suitable prognostic marker for the assessment of MS-related fatigue. Material and methods. A total of 194 MS patients were enrolled. We quantified EBV nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) and EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA) immunoglobulin (Ig) G levels and B cell-activating factor of the tumour necrosis factor family (BAFF) concentration in the serum of patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and chronic progressive MS (CPMS), and we analysed their correlation with aspects of fatigue and other clinical disease parameters. Results. A complete EBV seropositivity could be detected in our cohort. After adjusting for confounding variables and covariates, neither EBNA1 nor VCA antibody titres were associated with levels of fatigue, sleepiness, depression, or with any of the clinical values such as expanded disability status scale, lesion count, annual relapse rate, or disease duration. However, patients with RRMS had significantly higher EBNA1 IgG titre than those with CPMS, whereas this was not the case under therapies targeting CD20+ cells. BAFF levels in serum were inversely proportional to anti-EBNA1 IgG. Conclusions and clinical implications. Our results show that EBNA1 IgG titre is not associated with the presence or level of fatigue. Whether the increased EBNA1 titre in RRMS plays a direct role in disease progression, or is only a consequence of excessive B cell activation, remains to be answered in future studies

Die „tiefe Internationalisierung“ der deutschen Kommunikationswissenschaft?: Eine Evaluation der Personal- und Forschungsstrukturen sowie der Lehrprogramme deutscher Hochschulen

Der Beitrag präsentiert und diskutiert die Ergebnisse einer umfassenden Befragung und mehrerer Dokumentenanalysen zu Personal-und Forschungsstrukturen sowie Lehrprogrammen in der deutschen Kommunikationswissenschaft im Hinblick auf deren „tiefe Internationalisierung“ bzw. kosmopolitische Ausrichtung. Darunter verstehen wir eine umfassende Anerkennung und Einbindung globaler Vielfalt in die Wissensproduktion und messen dies entlang der Inhalts-und Raumdimension des Forschungs-und Lehroutputs der Professuren und der mit ihnen verbundenen Stellenstrukturen. Die Befunde zeigen, dass die deutsche Kommunikationswissenschaft einen großen Nachholbedarf hat, was eine kosmopolitische Wissensproduktion angeht. Vor dem Hintergrund der Relevanz globaler Werte, globalen Wissens und Global Governance werden aber auch Potentiale aufgezeigt sowie hochschulpolitische Maßnahmen diskutiert, die eine inhaltliche Internationalisierung der deutschen Kommunikationswissenschaft vorantreiben können.This paper presents and discusses the results of a comprehensive survey and several document analyses on personnel and research structures as well as teaching programs in German communication studies regarding their “deep internationalization” or cosmopolitan orientation. By this, we mean a comprehensive recognition and integration of global diversity into knowledge production. We measure this through the content and spatial dimension of the research and teaching output of professors, as well as the teaching and research staff linked tothem. The findings show that German communication studies is lagging a truly cosmopolitan knowledge production. Against the backdrop of the relevance of global values, global knowledge, and global governance, however, the study also points out potentials and discusses higher education policy measures that could advance the internationalization of German communication studies

National and subnational short-term forecasting of COVID-19 in Germany and Poland during early 2021

We compare forecasts of weekly case and death numbers for COVID-19 in Germany and Poland based on 15 different modelling approaches. These cover the period from January to April 2021 and address numbers of cases and deaths one and two weeks into the future, along with the respective uncertainties. We find that combining different forecasts into one forecast can enable better predictions. However, case numbers over longer periods were challenging to predict. Additional data sources, such as information about different versions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus present in the population, might improve forecasts in the future

Opposing Effects of the Angiopoietins on the Thrombin-Induced Permeability of Human Pulmonary Microvascular Endothelial Cells

BACKGROUND: Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) is associated with lung injury in ALI/ARDS. As endothelial activation by thrombin plays a role in the permeability of acute lung injury and Ang-2 may modulate the kinetics of thrombin-induced permeability by impairing the organization of vascular endothelial (VE-)cadherin, and affecting small Rho GTPases in human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMVECs), we hypothesized that Ang-2 acts as a sensitizer of thrombin-induced hyperpermeability of HPMVECs, opposed by Ang-1. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Permeability was assessed by measuring macromolecule passage and transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER). Angiopoietins did not affect basal permeability. Nevertheless, they had opposing effects on the thrombin-induced permeability, in particular in the initial phase. Ang-2 enhanced the initial permeability increase (passage, P = 0.010; TEER, P = 0.021) in parallel with impairment of VE-cadherin organization without affecting VE-cadherin Tyr685 phosphorylation or increasing RhoA activity. Ang-2 also increased intercellular gap formation. Ang-1 preincubation increased Rac1 activity, enforced the VE-cadherin organization, reduced the initial thrombin-induced permeability (TEER, P = 0.027), while Rac1 activity simultaneously normalized, and reduced RhoA activity at 15 min thrombin exposure (P = 0.039), but not at earlier time points. The simultaneous presence of Ang-2 largely prevented the effect of Ang-1 on TEER and macromolecule passage. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Ang-1 attenuated thrombin-induced permeability, which involved initial Rac1 activation-enforced cell-cell junctions, and later RhoA inhibition. In addition to antagonizing Ang-1, Ang-2 had also a direct effect itself. Ang-2 sensitized the initial thrombin-induced permeability accompanied by destabilization of VE-cadherin junctions and increased gap formation, in the absence of increased RhoA activity