Reducing infection risk and optimization of airing concepts for indoor air quality by accurate aerosol and CO2 measurement

Since the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the findings about the virus transmission route through aerosols, indoor air quality is a major topic when it comes to efforts to contain the spread of SARSCoV- 2 in the population. Most calculations of infection risk, however, still rely on CO2 as a proxy for exhaled aerosols. This assumption is no longer valid when air filtration devices are used, arising the need to include actual measured aerosol concentration into the calculation of indoor infection risk. To close this gab, a version of Wells-Riley equation, extended to include the effect of air filtration into determination of reproductive number, is introduced and applied to measurement data from indoor air quality during school lessons. The results show, that taking only CO2 into account will overestimate the real infection risk from aerosols by 20% in the cases without air filtration and by 60% in the cases with air filtration. Furthermore, measurement results varied strongly between different classrooms. This indicates that general airing recommendation, as applied during these tests, are not enough to assure a healthy environment and more individual measurements are necessary.publishedVersio

Motivationale Handlungskonflikte zwischen Sport, Schule und Freizeit

Die Theorie motivationaler Handlungskonflikte beschreibt das Erleben von Schule-Freizeit-Handlungskonflikten und der motivationalen Interferenz als Folge hiervon. Mit Blick auf sportlich aktive Kinder und Jugendliche wird erstmalig argumentiert, dass diese neben Schule-Freizeit- auch Schule-Sport- und Sport-Freizeit-Handlungskonflikte erleben und sich dies belastend auf die Ausführung der gewählten Handlungsoption auswirkt. Diese Annahme prüften wir mit 125 Schüler_innen (durchschnittliches Alter: 14.19, SD = 2.40, Jahre; 72 % weiblich), die wöchentlich durchschnittlich 5.50 Stunden (SD = 2.36) trainierten. Die Befunde verweisen darauf, dass Schule-Sport- sowie Sport-Freizeit-Handlungskonflikte eigens zu betrachten sind. Hierbei erlebten die befragten Schüler_innen Schule-Freizeit- und Sport-Freizeit-Handlungskonflikte in ähnlichem Ausmaß, Schule-Sport-Handlungskonflikte hingegen signifikant seltener. Je mehr Zeit die Schüler_innen für ihre Sportart wöchentlich trainierten, desto ausgeprägter waren Schule-Sport-Handlungskonflikte sowie Sport-Freizeit-Handlungskonflikte. Schule-Sport-Handlungskonflikte waren assoziiert mit Belastungserleben bei schulischen Tätigkeiten, nicht hingegen mit Belastungserleben beim Sport. Explorativ zeigte sich, dass Schüler_innen mit höheren Wohlbefindenswerten sich bei motivationalen Konflikten eher für die sportliche Aktivität entscheiden

Kurzform der Qualitätsskala zur Inklusiven Schulentwicklung - QU!S-S

Die QU!S-Kurzform ist ein Instrument zur Evaluation von fünf Qualitätsebenen inklusiver Schulentwicklung und wurde auf der Basis der umfänglicheren „Qualitätsskala Inklusive Schulentwicklung“ (QU!S®) abgeleitet. Die QU!S® wurde von Heimlich, Wilfert, Ostertag und Gebhardt (2018) entwickelt und im Rahmen des „Begleitforschungsprojektes inklusive Schulentwicklung (B!S)“ (vgl. Heimlich, Kahlert, Lelgemann, & Fischer, 2016) in Bayern erstmals in Schulen eingesetzt. Sie basiert auf dem ökologischen Mehrebenenmodell der inklusiven Schulentwicklung (Heimlich, 2003; 2019). Die QU!S-S (short) wird hingegen stärker als ein Instrument der Selbstevaluation der Schule und als Forschungsinstrument begriffen

Assessment of the quality of inclusive schools

The assessment of the quality of inclusive schools is an instrument for evaluating five quality levels of inclusive school development and was derived on the basis of the more comprehensive instrument for the external rating of schools the "Quality scale of inclusive school development" (QU!S). The QU!S was developed by Heimlich, Wilfert, Ostertag and Gebhardt (2018) and used in research (Heimlich, Kahlert, Lelgemann, & Fischer 2016). It is based on an ecological multi-level model of inclusive school development (Heimlich, 2003; 2019). The implementation of an inclusive education system is one of the central demands of the UN-Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2009. Accordingly, quality of schools must also be measured by the degree of implementation of inclusion. Data-supported feedback loops are helpful to identify the current status of implementation as well as the progress of implementation and the identification of possible problem areas. QU!S sees itself as an instrument which can be used by external consultants, to enter into a dialogue between all those involved in the development of the school. This includes the learners, the teachers, the school management, the parents and other participants. The QU!S-S, on the other hand, is more strongly understood as an instrument of school self-evaluation. This way, a multi-perspective, i.e. objective, picture of the status of implementation and possible focus points can be obtained

Risk factor paradox: No prognostic impact of arterial hypertension and smoking in patients with ventricular tachyarrhythmias

Background: Data regarding the outcome of patients with ventricular tachyarrhythmias related to arterial hypertension (AHT) and smoking is limited. The study sought to assess the prognostic impact of AHT and smoking on survival in patients presenting with ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Methods: All consecutive patients surviving ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) upon admission to the University Medical Center Mannheim (UMM), Germany from 2002 to 2016 were included and stratified according to AHT and smoking by propensity score matching. The primary prognostic endpoint was all-cause mortality at 30 months.Results: A total of 988 AHT-matched patients (494 each, with and without AHT) and a total of 872 smoking-matched patients (436 each, with and without smoking) were included. The rates of VT and VF were similar in both groups (VT: AHT 60% vs. no AHT 60%; smokers 61% vs. non-smokers 62%; VF: AHT 35% vs. no AHT 38%; smokers 39% vs. non-smokers 38%). Neither AHT nor smoking were associated with the primary endpoint of long-term all-cause mortality at 30 months (long-term mortality rates: AHT/no AHT, 26% vs. 28%; log-rank p = 0.525; smoking/non-smoking, 22% vs. 25%; log-rank p = 0.683).Conclusions: Paradoxically, neither AHT nor smoking were associated with differences of long-term all-cause mortality in patients presenting with ventricular tachyarrhythmias

Morphology engineering for novel antibiotics: Effect of glass microparticles and soy lecithin on rebeccamycin production and cellular morphology of filamentous actinomycete Lentzea aerocolonigenes

Lentzeaaerocolonigenes, as an actinomycete, is a natural producer of the antibiotic and antitumoral drug rebeccamycin. Due to the filamentous cellular morphology handling in cultivations is challenging; therefore, morphology engineering techniques are mandatory to enhance productivity. One promising approach described in the literature is the addition of mineral particles in the micrometer range to precisely adjust cellular morphology and the corresponding product synthesis (microparticle-enhanced cultivation, MPEC). Glass microparticles are introduced in this study as a novel supplementation type for bioprocess intensification in filamentous organisms. Several investigations were conducted to screen for an optimal particle setup, including particle size and concentration regarding their impact and effects on enhanced productivity, microparticle incorporation behavior into the biopellets, the viability of pellets, and morphological changes. Glass microparticles (10 g·L−1) with a median diameter of 7.9 µm, for instance, induced an up to fourfold increase in product synthesis accompanied by overall enhanced viability of biomass. Furthermore, structural elucidations showed that biopellets isolated from MPEC tend to have lower hyphal density than unsupplemented control pellets. In this context, oxygen microprofiling was conducted to better understand how internal structural changes interwind with oxygen supply into the pellets. Here, the resulting oxygen profiles are of a contradictive trend of steeper oxygen consumption with increasing glass microparticle supplementation. Eventually, MPEC was combined with another promising cultivation strategy, the supplementation of soy lecithin (7.5 g·L−1), to further increase the cultivation performance. A combination of both techniques in an optimized setup resulted in a rebeccamycin concentration of 213 mg·L−1 after 10 days of cultivation, the highest value published so far for microparticle-supplemented shake flask cultivations of L. aerocolonigenes

Exhaled Aerosols in SARS-CoV-2 Polymerase Chain Reaction-Positive Children and Age-Matched-Negative Controls

BackgroundChildren and adolescents seem to be less affected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease in terms of severity, especially until the increasing spread of the omicron variant in December 2021. Anatomical structures and lower number of exhaled aerosols may in part explain this phenomenon. In a cohort of healthy and SARS-CoV-2 infected children, we compared exhaled particle counts to gain further insights about the spreading of SARS-CoV-2.Materials and MethodsIn this single-center prospective observational trial, a total of 162 children and adolescents (age 6–17 years), of whom 39 were polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 123 PCR-negative, were included. The 39 PCR-positive children were compared to 39 PCR-negative age-matched controls. The data of all PCR-negative children were analyzed to determine baseline exhaled particle counts in children. In addition, medical and clinical history was obtained and spirometry was measured.ResultsBaseline exhaled particle counts were low in healthy children. Exhaled particle counts were significantly increased in SARS-CoV-2 PCR-positive children (median 355.0/L; range 81–6955/L), compared to age-matched -negative children (median 157.0/L; range 1–533/L; p < 0.001).ConclusionSARS-CoV-2 PCR-positive children exhaled significantly higher levels of aerosols than healthy children. Overall children had low levels of exhaled particle counts, possibly indicating that children are not the major driver of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.Trial Registration[ClinicalTrials.gov], Identifier [NCT04739020]

Acidic Microenvironments Found in Cutaneous Leishmania Lesions Curtail NO-Dependent Antiparasitic Macrophage Activity

Local tissue acidosis affects anti-tumor immunity. In contrast, data on tissue pH levels in infected tissues and their impact on antimicrobial activity is sparse. In this study, we assessed the pH levels in cutaneous Leishmania lesions. Leishmania major-infected skin tissue displayed pH levels of 6.7 indicating that lesional pH is acidic. Next, we tested the effect of low extracellular pH on the ability of macrophages to produce leishmanicidal NO and to fight the protozoan parasite Leishmania major. Extracellular acidification led to a marked decrease in both NO production and leishmanicidal activity of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon γ (IFN-γ)-coactivated macrophages. This was not directly caused by a disruption of NOS2 expression, a shortage of reducing equivalents (NAPDH) or substrate (L-arginine), but by a direct, pH-mediated inhibition of NOS2 enzyme activity. Normalization of intracellular pH significantly increased NO production and antiparasitic activity of macrophages even in an acidic microenvironment. Overall, these findings indicate that low local tissue pH can curtail NO production and leishmanicidal activity of macrophages

Type 2 diabetes is independently associated with all-cause mortality secondary to ventricular tachyarrhythmias

Objectives: The study sought to assess the prognostic impact of type 2 diabetes in patients presenting with ventricular tachyarrhythmias on admission. Background: Data regarding the prognostic outcome of diabetics presenting with ventricular tachyarrhythmias is limited. Methods: A large retrospective registry was used including all consecutive patients presenting with ventricular tachycardia (VT) and fibrillation (VF) on admission from 2002 to 2016. Patients with type 2 diabetes (diabetics) were compared to non-diabetics applying multivariable Cox regression models and propensity-score matching for evaluation of the primary prognostic endpoint of long-term all-cause mortality at 2 years. Secondary prognostic endpoints were cardiac death at 24 h, in-hospital death at index, all-cause mortality at 30 days, all-cause mortality in patients surviving index hospitalization at 2 years (i.e. “after discharge”) and rehospitalization due to recurrent ventricular tachyarrhythmias at 2 years. Results: In 2411 unmatched high-risk patients with ventricular tachyarrhythmias, diabetes was present in 25% compared to non-diabetics (75%). Rates of VT (57% vs. 56%) and VF (43% vs. 44%) were comparable in both groups. Multivariable Cox regression models revealed diabetics associated with the primary endpoint of long-term all-cause mortality at 2 years (HR = 1.513; p = 0.001), which was still proven after propensity score matching (46% vs. 33%, log rank p = 0.001; HR = 1.525; p = 0.001). The rates of secondary endpoints were higher for in-hospital death at index, all-cause mortality at 30 days, as well as after discharge, but not for cardiac death at 24 h or rehospitalization due to recurrent ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Conclusion: Presence of type 2 diabetes is independently associated with an increase of all-cause mortality in patients presenting with ventricular tachyarrhythmias on admission

Differential predictors for alcohol use in adolescents as a function of familial risk

Abstract: Traditional models of future alcohol use in adolescents have used variable-centered approaches, predicting alcohol use from a set of variables across entire samples or populations. Following the proposition that predictive factors may vary in adolescents as a function of family history, we used a two-pronged approach by first defining clusters of familial risk, followed by prediction analyses within each cluster. Thus, for the first time in adolescents, we tested whether adolescents with a family history of drug abuse exhibit a set of predictors different from adolescents without a family history. We apply this approach to a genetic risk score and individual differences in personality, cognition, behavior (risk-taking and discounting) substance use behavior at age 14, life events, and functional brain imaging, to predict scores on the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) at age 14 and 16 in a sample of adolescents (N = 1659 at baseline, N = 1327 at follow-up) from the IMAGEN cohort, a longitudinal community-based cohort of adolescents. In the absence of familial risk (n = 616), individual differences in baseline drinking, personality measures (extraversion, negative thinking), discounting behaviors, life events, and ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation were significantly associated with future AUDIT scores, while the overall model explained 22% of the variance in future AUDIT. In the presence of familial risk (n = 711), drinking behavior at age 14, personality measures (extraversion, impulsivity), behavioral risk-taking, and life events were significantly associated with future AUDIT scores, explaining 20.1% of the overall variance. Results suggest that individual differences in personality, cognition, life events, brain function, and drinking behavior contribute differentially to the prediction of future alcohol misuse. This approach may inform more individualized preventive interventions