Forschungsdatenmanagement als Herausforderung für Hochschulen und Hochschulbibliotheken

Eines der wichtigsten neuen Handlungsfelder der Forschung, das im Zuge der Digitalisierung von Information entstanden ist, ist das Management von Forschungsdaten. Die Hochschulen müssen sich darauf einstellen, ihren Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern die notwendigen Strukturen und Services zur Verfügung zu stellen. Die in der Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (HRK) organisierten Leitungen der deutschen Hochschulen sehen darin eine zentrale Aufgabe. Die Universität Münster geht mit gutem Beispiel voran: In enger Zusammenarbeit mit der Hochschulleitung hat die Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek damit begonnen, Strukturen und Services zur Unterstützung des Forschungsdatenmanagements aufzubauen.One of the most important fields of action in research which is developing along with the digitalisation of information is research data management. The universities face the challenge of offering their researchers adequate structures and services. The managing boards of the German universities organised in the German Rectors’ Conference has identified this as a key task. The Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster sets a good example: The University and Regional Library of Münster works closely together with the managing board of the university in order to establish structures and services supporting research data management

Early treatment of posterior crossbite - a randomised clinical trial

Background: The aim of this randomised clinical trial was to assess the effect of early orthodontic treatment in contrast to normal growth effects for functional unilateral posterior crossbite in the late deciduous and early mixed dentition by means of three-dimensional digital model analysis. Methods: This randomised clinical trial was assessed to analyse the orthodontic treatment effects for patients with functional unilateral posterior crossbite in the late deciduous and early mixed dentition using a two-step procedure: initial maxillary expansion followed by a U-bow activator therapy. In the treatment group 31 patients and in the control group 35 patients with a mean age of 7.3 years (SD 2.1) were monitored. The time between the initial assessment (T1) and the follow-up (T2) was one year. The orthodontic analysis was done by a three-dimensional digital model analysis. Using the ‘Digimodel’ software, the orthodontic measurements in the maxilla and mandible and for the midline deviation, the overjet and overbite were recorded. Results: Significant differences between the control and the therapy group at T2 were detected for the anterior, median and posterior transversal dimensions of the maxilla, the palatal depth, the palatal base arch length, the maxillary arch length and inclination, the midline deviation, the overjet and the overbite. Conclusions: Orthodontic treatment of a functional unilateral posterior crossbite with a bonded maxillary expansion device followed by U-bow activator therapy in the late deciduous and early mixed dentition is an effective therapeutic method, as evidenced by the results of this RCT. It leads to three-dimensional therapeutically induced maxillary growth effects. Dental occlusion is significantly improved, and the prognosis for normal craniofacial growth is enhanced

Prospects of micromass culture technology in tissue engineering

Tissue engineering of bone and cartilage tissue for subsequent implantation is of growing interest in cranio- and maxillofacial surgery. Commonly it is performed by using cells coaxed with scaffolds. Recently, there is a controversy concerning the use of artificial scaffolds compared to the use of a natural matrix. Therefore, new approaches called micromass technology have been invented to overcome these problems by avoiding the need for scaffolds. Technically, cells are dissociated and the dispersed cells are then reaggregated into cellular spheres. The micromass technology approach enables investigators to follow tissue formation from single cell sources to organised spheres in a controlled environment. Thus, the inherent fundamentals of tissue engineering are better revealed. Additionally, as the newly formed tissue is devoid of an artificial material, it resembles more closely the in vivo situation. The purpose of this review is to provide an insight into the fundamentals and the technique of micromass cell culture used to study bone tissue engineering

Infection, vascularization, remodelling - are stem cells the answers for bone diseases of the jaws?

Osteonecrosis after craniofacial radiation (ORN), osteomyelitis and bisphosphonates related necrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) are the predominant bone diseases in Cranio- and Maxillofacial surgery. Although various hypothesis for the pathophysiological mechanisms including infection, altered vascularisation or remodelling exist, the treatment is still a challenge for clinicians. As the classical pharmacological or surgical treatment protocols have only limited success, stem cells might be a promising treatment option, indicated by recently published data

The association of stress and physical activity: Mind the ecological fallacy [Der Zusammenhang zwischen Stress und körperlicher Aktivität: Mind the ecological fallacy]

Psychological stress and physical activity are interrelated, constituting a relevant association to human health, especially in children. However, the association’s nature remains elusive, i.e., why psychological stress predicts both decreased and increased physical activity. To test whether effects vary as a function of the level of analyses, we derived intensive longitudinal data via accelerometers and stress questionnaires from 74 children across 7 days as they went about their daily routines (n = 513 assessments). Multilevel modelling analyses revealed that between children, higher psychological stress predicted decreased physical activity (standardized beta coefficient = −0.14; p = 0.046). Concurrently, within those children, higher psychological stress predicted increased physical activity across days (standardized beta coefficient = 0.09; p = 0.015). Translated to practice, children who experienced more stress than others moved less, but children were more active on days when they experienced heightened stress. This suggests that the analyses level is crucial to the understanding of the association between psychological stress and physical activity and should be considered to receive unequivocal results. If replicated, e.g., including high-frequency sampling and experimental manipulation in everyday life for in-depth insights on underlying mechanisms and causality, our findings may be translated to individually tailored (digital) prevention and intervention strategies which target children’s distress-feelings despite impairing their heightened physical activity in stressful situations and identify tipping points of chronic stress phases. Therefore, we especially call for more intensive longitudinal data approaches to tackle thus far neglected within-subject issues in the field of physical activity, sport and exercise research

Relationships between incidental physical activity, exercise, and sports with subsequent mood in adolescents

Physical activity is beneficial for human physical health and well-being. Accordingly, the association between physical activity and mood in everyday life has been a subject of several Ambulatory Assessment studies. This mechanism has been studied in children, adults, and the elderly, but neglected in adolescents. It is critical to examine this mechanism in adolescents because adolescence plays a key role in human development and adolescents’ physical activity behavior translates into their behavior in adulthood. We investigated adolescents’ mood in relation to distinct physical activities: incidental activity such as climbing stairs; exercise activity, such as skating; and sports, such as playing soccer. We equipped 134 adolescents aged 12-17 years with accelerometers and GPS-triggered electronic diaries to use in their everyday life. Adolescents reported on mood repeatedly in real time across 7 days, and these data were analyzed using multilevel-modeling. After incidental activity, adolescents felt better and more energized. After exercise, adolescents felt better but less calm. After sports, adolescents felt less energized. Analyses of the time course of the effects confirmed our findings. Physical activity influences mood in adolescents’ everyday life, but has distinct effects depending on the kind of physical activity. Our results suggest incidental and exercise activities entail higher post-bout valence compared to sports in competitive settings. These findings may serve as an important empirical basis for the targeted application of distinct physical activities to foster well-being in adolescence

Embryonic stem cells in scaffold-free three-dimensional cell culture: osteogenic differentiation and bone generation

Extracorporeal formation of mineralized bone-like tissue is still an unsolved challenge in tissue engineering. Embryonic stem cells may open up new therapeutic options for the future and should be an interesting model for the analysis of fetal organogenesis. Here we describe a technique for culturing embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in the absence of artificial scaffolds which generated mineralized miromasses. Embryonic stem cells were harvested and osteogenic differentiation was stimulated by the addition of dexamethasone, ascorbic acid, and ß-glycerolphosphate (DAG). After three days of cultivation microspheres were formed. These spherical three-dimensional cell units showed a peripheral zone consisting of densely packed cell layers surrounded by minerals that were embedded in the extracellular matrix. Alizarine red staining confirmed evidence of mineralization after 10 days of DAG stimulation in the stimulated but not in the control group. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated scorching crystallites and collagenous fibrils as early indication of bone formation. These extracellular structures resembled hydroxyl apatite-like crystals as demonstrated by distinct diffraction patterns using electron diffraction analysis. The micromass culture technique is an appropriate model to form three-dimensional bone-like micro-units without the need for an underlying scaffold. Further studies will have to show whether the technique is applicable also to pluripotent stem cells of different origin

Relation between awareness of circulatory disorders and smoking in a general population health examination

BACKGROUND: Little is known about proportions of smokers who maintain smoking after they are aware of a circulatory disorder. The goal was to analyze the extent to which the number of circulatory disorders may be related to being a current smoker. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey study with a probability sample of residents in Germany investigated in health examination centers. Questionnaire data of 3,778 ever smoking participants aged 18 – 79 were used, questions included whether the respondent had ever had hypertension, myocardial infarction, other coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, other cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, and venous thrombosis. Logistic regression was calculated for circulatory disorders and their number with current smoking as the dependent variable, and odds ratios (OR) are presented adjusted for physician contact, inpatient treatment, smoking cessation counseling, heavy smoking, exercise, overweight and obesity, school education, sex and age. RESULTS: Among ever smokers who had 1 circulatory disorder, 52.1 % were current smokers and among those who reported that they had 3 or more circulatory disorders 28.0 % were current smokers at the time of the interview. The adjusted odds of being a current smoker were lower for individuals who had ever smoked in life and had 2 or more central circulatory disorders, such as myocardial infarction, heart failure or stroke, than for ever smokers without central circulatory disorder (2 or more disorders: adjusted OR 0.6, 95 % confidence interval, CI, 0.4 to 0.8). CONCLUSION: Among those with central circulatory disorders, there is a substantial portion of individuals who smoke despite their disease. The data suggest that only a portion of smokers among the general population seems to be discouraged from smoking by circulatory disorders or its accompanying cognitive or emotional processes

Kinetic oxygen measurements by CVC96 in L-929 cell cultures

Generally animal and human cells use oxygen during their whole life. Consequently the oxygen use is a simple indicator to test the vitality of cells. When the vitality decreases by the delivery of toxic substances the decrease can be observed directly by the oxygen-use of the cells. To get fast information of the vitality of cells we have measured the O(2)-tension by testing a new model of a bioreactor, the Cell Vitality Checker 96 (CVC96), in practical application. With this CVC96, soon a simple test will exist for the measurement of the oxygen use. In this respect the question had to be answered whether the use in the laboratory is easy and whether oxygen as a parameter in the vitality test can also be applied in future for problems in the field of material testing

Principles of cartilage tissue engineering in TMJ reconstruction

Diseases and defects of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), compromising the cartilaginous layer of the condyle, impose a significant treatment challenge. Different regeneration approaches, especially surgical interventions at the TMJ's cartilage surface, are established treatment methods in maxillofacial surgery but fail to induce a regeneration ad integrum. Cartilage tissue engineering, in contrast, is a newly introduced treatment option in cartilage reconstruction strategies aimed to heal cartilaginous defects. Because cartilage has a limited capacity for intrinsic repair, and even minor lesions or injuries may lead to progressive damage, biological oriented approaches have gained special interest in cartilage therapy. Cell based cartilage regeneration is suggested to improve cartilage repair or reconstruction therapies. Autologous cell implantation, for example, is the first step as a clinically used cell based regeneration option. More advanced or complex therapeutical options (extracorporeal cartilage engineering, genetic engineering, both under evaluation in pre-clinical investigations) have not reached the level of clinical trials but may be approached in the near future. In order to understand cartilage tissue engineering as a new treatment option, an overview of the biological, engineering, and clinical challenges as well as the inherent constraints of the different treatment modalities are given in this paper