Smart City Design Differences: Insights from Decision-Makers in Germany and the Middle East/North-Africa Region

Smart cities offer solutions to environmental, economic, and societal problems in urban agglomerations. We investigate the potential for mutual learning in smart city implementation by comparing German approaches (smaller, local projects) to projects implemented in the MENA region (bigger, national designs). We contrast the outside view on these projects with an inside perspective, surveying key decision-makers in five German and seven MENA smart cities. We assess motivation, technology options, and factors that drive or impede smart city implementation. We find strong similarities in the motives to engage in smart cities, offering common ground for mutual good practice exchange. Energy efficiency solutions and - to a lesser extent - renewable energies are of strong interest to policymakers in all countries. In contrast, the appraisal of mobility solutions strongly diverges, showing that technology deployment is far from being a simple "plug and play" solution. Considering these insights can facilitate the overall deployment of smart cities, not only in the surveyed countries but also in global manner

Einfluss des Nipahvirus-Matrixproteins auf die Lokalisation von viralen Nukleokapsiden und inclusion bodies

Zusammenfassung Das Nipahvirus (NiV) ist ein hochpathogenes, BSL-4 klassifiziertes Paramyxovirus. Das Hüll-assoziierte Matrixprotein (NiV-M) spielt eine zentrale Rolle beim Virus-Assembly und der Bildung infektiöser Viruspartikel, weil es den Kontakt zwischen den im Zytoplasma gebildeten Nukleokapsiden (RNPs) und den NiV-Oberflächen-Glykoproteinen vermittelt. Um diese wichtige Funktion zu erfüllen, muss das NiV-M an die Plasmamembran gelangen, wobei es in einigen Zelltypen vorher durch den Zellkern transportiert wird. Im ersten Teil dieser Arbeit konnte mit Hilfe verschiedener Kernimport- und Kernexport-Mutanten und Immunfluoreszenzanalysen in fixierten und lebenden Zellen gezeigt werden, dass das NiV-M auch in Zelltypen, in denen es bislang nicht im Zellkern nachweisbar war, einen Kerntransit durchlaufen muss, bevor es an die Plasmamembran transportiert wird. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit wurde untersucht, wo und wie das NiV-M mit viralen RNPs interagiert. Erste Untersuchungen hatten gezeigt, dass virale RNPs in infizierten Zellen in großen zytoplasmatischen inclusion bodies (IB) akkumulieren. Diese liegen teilweise perinukleär und teilweise an der Plasmamembran vor, wo letztendlich das Virus-Assembly stattfindet. Um zu klären, ob das NiV-M beim Transport der RNPs an die Plasmamembran und für die Bildung der unterschiedlich lokalisierten IB eine Rolle spielt, wurde der Einfluss des NiV-Ms auf die IB-Verteilung untersucht. Sowohl Infektions- als auch Kotransfektionsstudien zeigten, dass für die Bildung von peripheren IB an der Plasmamembran und das Virus-Assembly die Expression von funktionellem, korrekt durch den Kern transportiertem NiV-M essentiell ist. Transport-defekte NiV-M Mutanten oder fremde Matrixproteine wie z.B. von Masern- oder Ebolaviren, konnten keine IB-Bildung an der Plasmamembran induzieren. Sie kolokalisierten allerdings mit perinukleären IB, was vermuten lässt, dass diese ein eigenes zelluläres Kompartiment bilden, das stark exprimierte, zytosolische Proteine rekrutieren kann. Die IB an der Plasmamembran bilden sich unabhängig davon, wenn funktionelles NiV-M vorhanden ist. Die Vermutung, dass sich perinukleäre und periphere IB prinzipiell unterscheiden, konnte auch auf ultrastruktureller Ebene durch elektronenmikroskopische Studien bestätigt werden. Im letzten Teil dieser Arbeit wurde durch Studien mit verschiedenen Zytoskelett-Inhibitoren gezeigt, dass eine Zerstörung der Aktinfilamente durch Cytochalasin D den M-Transport und die IB-Bildung an der Plasmamembran verhindern kann. Dies lässt vermuten, dass das Aktinzytoskelett aber nicht die Mikrotubuli eine wesentliche Rolle für das NiV-M vermittelte Virus-Assembly spielen. Insgesamt konnten in dieser Arbeit neue grundlegende Kenntnisse über den intrazellulären Transport des NiV-Ms und die Entstehung von Plasmamembran-assoziierten inclusion bodies gewonnen werden, beides essentielle Voraussetzungen für eine effiziente Neubildung und Freisetzung infektiöser Nipahviren

Tele-Coupling Energy Efficiency Polices in Europe: Showcasing the German Governance Arrangements

Climate change entails many situations of tele-coupling. We analyze an example in the field of European climate and energy policy. The EU aims at an almost full decarbonisation of its economy by 2050. Achieving this objective asks for transforming the energy sectors of EU Member States. These are responsible for 80% of carbon emissions. Further to this policy coupling, the EU transformation objectives have to be implemented by the Member States, regions and local actors. This proves especially complex in the field of energy efficiency. Here, a variety of policy instruments and actors are in place. In our contribution, we investigate in the question how multi-level governance arrangements in the energy efficiency field are designed. We focus on Germany as example for a federal state setting. Our review method comprises literature content analysis, primary sources, expert interviews and an in-depth screening of the German Sustainable Energy Action Plans. We find that formal vertical coordination has been successfully backed up by horizontal and especially informal governance mechanisms, leading to a model of polycentric governance. This model might serve as blueprint for other multi-level governance arrangements. Yet, we find that the “last mile” of this coordination still needs strengthening: Local actors need more active engaging and empowering to reap the full potential of the governance arrangements

Automated grading of cerebral vasospasm to standardize computed tomography angiography examinations after subarachnoid hemorrhage

Background: Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is frequently used with computed tomography perfusion imaging (CTP) to evaluate whether endovascular vasospasm treatment is indicated for subarachnoid hemorrhage patients with delayed cerebral ischemia. However, objective parameters for CTA evaluation are lacking. In this study, we used an automated, investigator-independent, digital method to detect vasospasm, and we evaluated whether the method could predict the need for subsequent endovascular vasospasm treatment.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the charts and analyzed imaging data for 40 consecutive patients with subarachnoid hemorrhages. The cerebrovascular trees were digitally reconstructed from CTA data, and vessel volume and the length of the arteries of the circle of Willis and their peripheral branches were determined. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis based on a comparison with digital subtraction angiographies was used to determine volumetric thresholds that indicated severe vasospasm for each vessel segment. Results: The automated threshold-based volumetric evaluation of CTA data was able to detect severe vasospasm with high sensitivity and negative predictive value for predicting cerebral hypoperfusion on CTP, although the specificity and positive predictive value were low. Combining the automated detection of vasospasm on CTA and cerebral hypoperfusion on CTP was superior to CTP or CTA alone in predicting endovascular vasospasm treatment within 24 h after the examination. Conclusions: This digital volumetric analysis of the cerebrovascular tree allowed the objective, investigator-independent detection and quantification of vasospasms. This method could be used to standardize diagnostics and the selection of subarachnoid hemorrhage patients with delayed cerebral ischemia for endovascular diagnostics and possible interventions

Impact of pre-hospital handling and initial time to cranial computed tomography on outcome in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients with out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest—a retrospective bi-centric study

BackgroundAneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) presents occasionally with cardiac arrest (CA). The impact of pre-hospital and emergency room (ER) treatment on outcome remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the impact of pre-hospital treatment, focusing on lay cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and ER handling on the outcome of SAH patients with out-of-hospital CA (OHCA).MethodsIn this bi-centric retrospective analysis, we reviewed SAH databases for OHCA and CPR from January 2011 to June 2021. Patients were analyzed for general clinical and epidemiological parameters. CPR data were obtained from ambulance reports and information on ER handling from the medical records. Data were correlated with patient survival at hospital discharge as a predefined outcome parameter.ResultsOf 1,120 patients with SAH, 45 (4.0%) were identified with OHCA and CPR, 38 of whom provided all required information and were included in this study. Time to resuscitation was significantly shorter with lay resuscitation (5.3 ± 5.2 min vs. 0.3 ± 1.2 min, p = 0.003). Nineteen patients were not initially scheduled for cranial computed tomography (CCT), resulting in a significantly longer time interval to first CCT (mean ± SD: 154 ± 217 min vs. 40 ± 23 min; p < 0.001). Overall survival to discharge was 31.6%. Pre-hospital lay CPR was not associated with higher survival (p = 0.632). However, we observed a shorter time to first CCT in surviving patients (p = 0.065)ConclusionsOHCA in SAH patients is not uncommon. Besides high-quality CPR, time to diagnosis of SAH appears to play an important role. We therefore recommend considering CCT diagnostics as part of the diagnostic algorithm in patients with OHCA

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

Energy advice in Germany: A market actors’ perspective

Purpose This study reviews present trends, barriers and outlooks for the future as seen by actors in the energy advice services market in Germany. As Germany is one of Europe’s leading markets for energy services, this review aims to highlight energy sector management issues that exist throughout Europe. Design/methodology/approach This study combines qualitative and quantitative research approaches, using seven qualitative stakeholder interviews and a semi-structured survey covering over 500 energy advisors. Based on the present market, this study seeks to identify barriers against further market development, regulatory measures that can promote market development and business models for energy services likely to emerge in the future. Findings Significant barriers persist, despite a strong government commitment to support development of the energy services markets. The barriers encourage market actors to maintain the status quo rather than use innovate new service models. To support innovative business models, action is needed by both industry associations and the government to create a stronger demand pull for advice services. Originality/value This paper provides a new sectoral overview of Europe’s biggest energy service market as seen from a market actor perspective. It focuses on the analysis of barriers and business models to derive needs for further capacity building within the sector and for political governance to trigger further market dynamics

Smart city design differences

Smart cities offer solutions to environmental, economic, and societal problems in urban agglomerations. We investigate the potential for mutual learning in smart city implementation by comparing German approaches (smaller, local projects) to projects implemented in the MENA region (bigger, national designs). We contrast the outside view on these projects with an inside perspective, surveying key decision-makers in five German and seven MENA smart cities. We assess motivation, technology options, and factors that drive or impede smart city implementation. We find strong similarities in the motives to engage in smart cities, offering common ground for mutual good practice exchange. Energy efficiency solutions and—to a lesser extent—renewable energies are of strong interest to policymakers in all countries. In contrast, the appraisal of mobility solutions strongly diverges, showing that technology deployment is far from being a simple “plug and play” solution. Considering these insights can facilitate the overall deployment of smart cities, not only in the surveyed countries but also in global manner