Women in Montenegro exhibit a high degree of happiness and life satisfaction: Data from the Multiple Independent Cluster Survey 2018

Aim: Montenegrin government is increasingly aware of the key role of women in the society and attempts to improve social cohesion among Montenegrin people. Precondition is a high degree of life satisfaction and happiness. Methods: We used the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) of 2018 to analyse the distribution and interaction of 22 potential determinants out of 383 variables available. The participation rate was 77.7 or 2,276 women aged 15-49 years out of 2,928 invited. As data quality turned out to be limited, we employed a data mining approach, i.e. an interactive Classification and Regression Tree (C&RT). Happiness was measured ranging from very happy to very unhappy on a categorical scale of 5 steps Results: Of all Montenegrin women 70.7% declared themselves as very happy. Likewise, a 10-point scale of life satisfaction classifies 82.0% of the sample in the top ranks 8-10. Furthermore, 73.6% of the women expect the next year to be even better. Wealth, younger age, and marriage or living in union determine the status of happiness. Conclusion: Women in Montenegro exhibit a high degree of self-reported happiness and life satisfaction. Montenegrin policies should continue to support the role of women in the society.   Conflicts of interest: None declared

Women in Montenegro exhibit a high degree of happiness and life satisfaction: Data from the Multiple Independent Cluster Survey 2018

Aim: Montenegrin government is increasingly aware of the key role of women in the society and attempts to improve social cohesion among Montenegrin people. Precondition is a high degree of life satisfaction and happiness. Methods: We used the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) of 2018 to analyse the distribution and interaction of 22 potential determinants out of 383 variables available. The participation rate was 77.7 or 2,276 women aged 15-49 years out of 2,928 invited. As data quality turned out to be limited, we employed a data mining approach, i.e. an interactive Classification and Regression Tree (C&RT). Happiness was measured ranging from very happy to very unhappy on a categorical scale of 5 steps Results: Of all Montenegrin women 70.7% declared themselves as very happy. Likewise, a 10-point scale of life satisfaction classifies 82.0% of the sample in the top ranks 8-10. Furthermore, 73.6% of the women expect the next year to be even better. Wealth, younger age, and marriage or living in union determine the status of happiness. Conclusion: Women in Montenegro exhibit a high degree of self-reported happiness and life satisfaction. Montenegrin policies should continue to support the role of women in the society. &nbsp

Piloting an advanced methodology to analyse health care policy networks: The example of Belgrade, Serbia

Aim: Political decisions usually emerge from the competing interests of politicians, voters, and special interest groups. We investigated the applicability of an advanced methodological concept to determine whether certain institutional positions in a cooperating network have influence on the decision-making procedures. To that end, we made use of the institutional network of relevant health care and health governance institutions, concentrated in Belgrade, Serbia. Methods: We used a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based on a combination of measures for centrality in order to evaluate the positions of 25 players in Belgrade‟s institutional network. Their directed links were determined by a simulated position approach employing the authors‟ long-term involvement. Software packages used consisted of Visone 2.9, UCINET 6, and KeyPlayer 1.44. Results: In our analysis, the network density score in Belgrade was 71%. The PCA revealed two dimensions: control and attractiveness. The Ministry of Health exerted the highest level of control but displayed a low attractiveness in terms of receiving links from important players. The National Health Insurance Fund had less control capacity but a high attractiveness. The National Institute of Public Health‟s position was characterized by a low control capacity and high attractiveness, whereas the National Drug Agency, the National Health Council, and Non-Governmental Organisations were no prominent players. Conclusions: The advanced methodologies used here to analyse the health care policy network in Belgrade provided consistent results indicating that the intended decentralization of the health care network in Belgrade may be incomplete, still with low participation of civil society representatives. With the present study we set the stage for a broad-range survey based data collection applying the methodology piloted in Belgrade

Biological Activities of Two Major Copaiba Diterpenoids and Their Semi-synthetic Derivatives

The oleoresin of Copaifera reticulata Ducke, Fabaceae, is a traditional Brazilian remedy used for a wide range of applications. Commonly named copaiba, the oleoresin has been found to exhibit strong antimicrobial effects in our previous study, which could be attributed to some of its diterpenoid constituents. In order to find new biological activities and to eventually enhance the before observed effects, (−)-polyalthic acid (1) and kaurenoic acid (2), together with eight prepared semi-synthetic derivatives (1a–1c and 2a–2e) were evaluated for their cytotoxic, antibacterial and antifungal properties. Regarding the gram-positive bacteria Enterococcus faecium and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, we found that both the exocylic methylene group and the carboxyl group were crucial for the activity against these two clinically relevant bacterial strains. Investigation of the antifungal activity, in contrast, showed that the carboxyl group is unnecessary for the effect against the dermatophytes Trichophyton rubrum and Cryptococcus neoformans, indicated by low micromolar IC50 values for both (−)-polyalthic acid diethylamide (1a) as well as (−)-polyalthic acid methyl ester (1b). Apart from studying the biological activity, the structure of one semi-synthetic derivative, compound 1c, is being reported for the first time. During the course of the structure elucidation of the new compound, we discovered inconsistencies regarding the stereochemistry of polyalthic acid and its stereoisomers, which we clarified in the present work. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]PeerReviewe

Normierungsdiskurse in der Kommunikationsforschung - eine bilanzierende Reflexion

"Die historisch wechselnde Konstellierung der Begriffe Autorität, Autorschaft, Wahrheit etc. bildet ein wesentliches Moment des medien- und kommunikationswissenschaftlichen Diskurses über die Beziehungen zwischen Wirklichkeit, Kunst, Produktion und Rezeption. War die ältere ästhetischen Theorie noch bis zur Aufklärung von den Parametern Nachahmung und Illusion her bestimmt, indem die Referenzebene der Kunst in einer ihrer Produktion vorangehenden Realität verortet wurde, so fokussieren moderne Theorien auf die Figur des werkbegründenden Subjekts, das Autorität im eigenen Namen reklamiert. Im postmodernen Diskurs eines referenzlosen, universalen Gewebes der Zeichen treten schließlich der Text selbst und seine vielgestaltige Rezipierbarkeit aus dem Schatten der 'Realität' und des 'Werkes' hervor. Die diesen verschiedenen Modellen jeweils eigenen Normierungstendenzen werden im Vortrag reflektiert. Insbesondere Konzeptionen, die zentral mit der Figur des Werkes argumentieren (etwa die Unterscheidung von Hoch- und Populärkultur in der Kulturindustriethese der kritischen Theorie), sowie solche, die sich dezidiert vom Werkbegriff distanziert haben, werden befragt. Dabei wird sich erweisen, daß entgegen den strikten Unterscheidungen normierender medien- und kommunikationswissenschaftlicher Theorien in der Gegenwart eher kulturelle Gemengelagen und Entgrenzungen zu beobachten sind, die als Konsequenz gesellschafts- und mediengeschichtlicher Differenzierungsprozesse rekonstruiert werden können. In einem forschungspolitischen Exkurs werden aktuelle Gutachten zur medienwissenschaftlichen Forschungslandschaft daraufhin untersucht, ob sie dieser Komplexität medialer Kommunikationsprozesse gerecht werden. Daran anschließend werden aktuelle Ansätze im Bereich der interdisziplinären Rezeptionsforschung betrachtet. Medienhandeln im Spannungsfeld von Übereignung und Aneignung wird hier als zentrales Element der sozialen Konstruktion von Medienästhetik und Kommunikationskultur gedeutet." (Autorenreferat

Synthesis of waterborne degradable polyester nanoparticles

Waterborne degradable nanoparticles are of interest for many applications, such as drug delivery, temporary coatings or adhesives. The aim of this project is to achieve degradability of waterborne polymeric adhesive dispersions by introducing polyesters in the polymer particles due to their simple decomposition through hydrolysis. Two approaches were followed to introduce polyesters into the polymer matrix. On the one hand the usage of acrylated oligoesters as macromonomers to form degradable side chains and on the other hand the usage of diacrylated oligoesters as crosslinker for degradability in the crosslinking points of the polymeric network (Figure 1). Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Chronic anti-Thy-1 nephritis is aggravated in the nonclipped but not in the clipped kidney of Goldblatt hypertensive rats

Chronic anti-Thy-1 nephritis is aggravated in the nonclipped but not in the clipped kidney of Goldblatt hypertensive rats.BackgroundWe have previously shown that renovascular hypertension does not inhibit healing of the acute Thy-1 nephritis. To test whether a chronic model of the Thy-1 nephritis is more susceptible to high blood pressure, the repetitive hit model was evaluated in rats with 2-kidney, 1-clip Goldblatt hypertension.MethodsSix weeks after initiation of 2-kidney, 1-clip hypertension, chronic Thy-1 glomerulonephritis was induced in hypertensive rats by four consecutive injections of rabbit antiserum in weekly intervals. Renal structure and function were examined two weeks after the last injection. Glomerular binding of rabbit IgG as well as expression of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and -2 were evaluated by Western blotting.ResultsSimilar glomerular deposition of rabbit IgG was detected in normotensive rats and in both kidneys of Goldblatt hypertensive rats indicating similar delivery and binding of the heterologous antibody. Induction of the repetitive Thy-1 model significantly enhanced glomerular damage in the nonclipped kidney and increased albuminuria. Surprisingly, no glomerular damage developed in the clipped kidney of nephritic hypertensive rats. In contrast, increased glomerular volume and increased expression of TGF-β, α-SMA as well as COX-1 and COX-2 were found in normotensive nephritic rats and in both kidneys of nephritic hypertensive rats.ConclusionGlomerular and tubulointerstitial damage of the chronic Thy-1 model is dramatically enhanced in the nonclipped kidneys of Goldblatt hypertensive rats. In contrast, the clipped kidney is completely protected from this immunological injury despite similar activation of glomerular cells, induction of TGF-β, COX-1 and COX-2 and glomerular hypertrophy

Increased NAD(P)H oxidase-mediated superoxide production in renovascular hypertension: Evidence for an involvement of protein kinase C

Increased NAD(P)H oxidase-mediated superoxide production in renovascular hypertension: Evidence for an involvement of protein kinase C.BackgroundAngiotensin II infusion has been shown to cause hypertension and endothelial dysfunction and to increase superoxide (O-·2) production in vascular tissue, mainly via an activation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) [NAD(P)H]-dependent oxidase, the most significant O-·2 source in endothelial and/or smooth muscle cells. With these studies, we sought to determine whether endothelial dysfunction in renovascular hypertension is secondary to an activation of these oxidases.MethodsEndothelial function in aortas from rats with two kidney-one clip (2K-1C) hypertension and age-matched controls was assessed using isometric tension studies in organ chambers. Changes in vascular O-·2 production were measured using lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence and electron spin resonance spectroscopy.ResultsIn hypertensive animals, relaxation to endothelium-dependent (acetylcholine) and endothelium-independent nitrovasodilators (nitroglycerin) was impaired. Constriction to a direct activator of protein kinase C (PKC) phorbol ester 12,13 dibutyrate (PDBu) was enhanced, and vascular O-·2 was significantly increased compared with controls. Vascular O-·2 was normalized by the PKC inhibitor calphostin C, by the inhibitor of flavin-dependent oxidases, diphenylene iodonium, and recombinant heparin-binding superoxide dismutase, whereas inhibitors of the xanthine oxidase (oxypurinol), nitric oxide synthase (NG-nitro-L-arginine) and mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase (rotenone) were ineffective. Studies of vascular homogenates demonstrated that the major source of O-·2 was a NAD(P)H-dependent oxidase. Incubation of intact tissue with PDBu markedly increased O-·2, the increase being significantly stronger in vessels from hypertensive animals as compared with vessels from controls. Endothelial dysfunction was improved by preincubation of vascular tissue with superoxide dismutase and calphostin C.ConclusionsWe therefore conclude that renovascular hypertension in 2K-1C rats is associated with increased vascular O-·2 leading to impaired vasodilator responses to endogenous and exogenous nitrovasodilators. Increased vascular O-·2 is likely secondary to a PKC-mediated activation of a membrane-associated NAD(P)H-dependent oxidase