The mediation of social influences on smoking cessation and awareness of the early signs of lung cancer

Background Whilst there has been no clear consensus on the potential for earlier diagnosis of lung cancer, recent research has suggested that the time between symptom onset and consultation can be long enough to plausibly affect prognosis. In this article, we present findings from a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with patients who had been diagnosed with lung cancer (n = 11), and people who were at heightened risk of developing the disease (n = 14). Methods A grounded theory methodology was drawn upon to conduct thematic and narrative based approaches to analysis. Results The paper focuses on three main themes which emerged from the study: i) fatalism and resignation in pathways to help-seeking and the process of diagnosis; ii) Awareness of smoking risk and response to cessation information and advice. iii) The role of social and other networks on help-seeking. Key findings included: poor awareness among participants of the symptoms of lung cancer; ambivalence about the dangers of smoking; the perception of lung cancer as part of a homogenisation of multiple illnesses; close social networks as a key trigger in help-seeking. Conclusions We suggest that future smoking cessation and lung cancer awareness campaigns could usefully capitalise on the influence of close social networks, and would benefit from taking a ‘softer’ approach

Immun-/histologische Untersuchungen zur Rolle des Komplementsystems bei der Frakturheilung

Es gibt Hinweise in der Literatur, dass das Komplementsystem eine wichtige Rolle in der Knochenbildung spielen könnte. Die bisherigen Kenntnisse beruhen meist auf Zellkulturstudien. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde daher die Knochenheilung in C3 und C5 defizienten Mausmodellen untersucht. Es sollte geklärt werden, ob die beiden zentralen Komplementfaktoren wesentlich an der Frakturheilung beteiligt sind. Dazu wurden Frakturheilungsstudien in C3 und C5 defizienten Mäusen durchgeführt. Das Femur wurde osteotomiert und mit einem Fixateur externe stabilisiert. Nach 1, 3, 7 und 21 Tagen wurden die osteotomierten Knochen histologisch aufgearbeitet und die Zusammensetzung des Frakturkallus analysiert. Zudem wurde Interleukin-6 (IL-6) als wichtiges regulatorisches Zytokin der Frakturheilung immunhistochemisch untersucht

Towards an Autonomous Application of Smart Services in Industry 4.0

Redeker M, Klarhorst C, Göllner D, et al. Towards an Autonomous Application of Smart Services in Industry 4.0. Presented at the ETFA 2021 - 26th Annual Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation, Västerås, Sweden.Today's high complexity and required expertise in various disciplines for data-based evaluations of shop-floor assets is challenging. This paper describes the ongoing development towards an Industry 4.0 ecosystem enabling Smart Services and shop-floor assets to network autonomously. Three partial solutions are combined for this purpose: Industry 4.0 digital twins, automated data streams and a Smart Service toolbox. A prototypical implementation proves the general practicability. Furthermore, future work is outlined to achieve full autonomy