Introduction:The Sites, Materialities and Practices of Interreligious Encounters in Europe

This introduction asks about the multiple forms, power effects, fragility and contested nature of interreligious encounters in Europe from various social science perspectives. With ‘interreligious dialogue’ initiatives being promoted in many societies, research on the topic has expanded. Attention has been devoted to dialogue as a tool to promote social cohesion and integration in societies marked by migration-driven religious diversity. However, research on the intertwined effects of the sites, materialities and practices of ‘the interreligious’ is scarce, especially with regard to the production and contentious transformation of identities, mechanisms of belonging and power relations in local contexts. To address this gap, the contributions to Interreligious Encounters in Europe: Sites, Materialities and Practices focus on the situated articulations of interreligious encounters and dialogues by examining how different encounters are framed, expressed and practised. Drawing on 9 empirical case studies from various countries, the contributions (a) shed light on the subjectivities, relations and modes of behaviour produced, negotiated and contested in and through locally embedded interreligious encounters and dialogue-oriented practices; (b) observe the power dynamics that shape those practices and encounters; and (c) discuss their implications for the place(s) of religion in the public sphere. The volume provides insights into the commonalities and specificities of interreligious encounters, politics and practices across different settings

Afterword

As an afterword to the volume Interreligious Encounters in Europe: Sites, Materialities and Practices,this chapter highlights two main take-away messages from the contributions of the book: the productivity of interreligious encounters, and the power relations and power effects of the practices and politics of interreligious encounters and dialogues. The practices and politics of interreligious encounters and dialogues often display both hopeful movements towards overcoming differences and exclusion and a (re-)production of power inequalities. The afterword reflects on these tensions and identifies paths for future research

How to establish and maintain outsourcing relationships between Logistics Service Providers and their clients?

Abstract Purpose: What influences collaboration between LSPs and their clients in the midst of uncertainty lies in the analysis of supply chain collaboration between logistics service providers (LSPs) and their clients, with a main focus set on communication, coordination, and technological issues, (i.e. rational measures to achieve defined goals), resulting interdependencies and complexity as well as organizational coordination principles and mechanisms. Qualitative interviews with experts from leading LSPs on how they establish and maintain outsourcing relationships operationally were conducted and analyzed by open, axial and selective coding, following a grounded theory approach methodology. Coordination as a precondition for collaboration is based on communication between LSPs and their clients. The more complex and/or interdependent processes reveal themselves to be in an outsourcing relationship, the more intense coordination efforts have to be established and maintained for outsourcing operations to reduce uncertainty. Furthermore, collaboration level between LSPs and clients is influenced by several factors, such as strategic importance of the client, general contract size and transaction frequency, a common understanding of the mutual dependency arising from collaboration, trust, the depth of the comfort level in interpersonal relations and, finally, the degree of standardization of communication on the operational level. Moreover, it indicates that operational coordination efforts seem to be limited to standardization of input, output and work processes. Otherwise, coordination costs would rise considerably. This leads to the conclusion that the interdependency of outsourced processes is to be reduced, which goes hand-in-hand with lower and controllable uncertainty and subsequently lower risks

Müll im Meer- Schülerinnen und Schüler forschen zu Ursachen und Vorkommen von Plastikmüll im Meer

Das Projekt „Müll im Meer“ bereitet Expertenwissen zu Strategien der Probennahme, Analytik und Quantifizierung von Mikroplastik im Meer didaktisch mit vier Kooperationspartnern auf. Ziel ist es, fundierte und praxisorientierte Lernmodule für Schulen und außerschulische Lernorte zu entwickeln. Schülerinnen und Schüler der Sekundarstufe II führen diese in vier bis fünf Tagen durch. Die Lernmodule werden thematisch in naturwissenschaftliche Fächer integriert und sind im Zusammenhang mit Umweltschutz und nachhaltiger Nutzung von Ressourcen zu behandeln

Neogene and Quaternary geodynamic evolution of the Italian peninsula: the contribution of paleomagnetic data

Paleomagnetism has played an important role in the development of geodynamic models for the Italian peninsula. Paleomagnetic data from this area have been increasingly reported since the late 1960s, placing important constraints on geodynamics. A brief outline of the main concepts underlying a paleomagnetic study is provided in the first part of this paper. We also discuss the criteiia for the assessment of the reliability of paleomagnetic data. Finally,the data collected over the past 25 years in peninsular and insular Italy are synthetically reviewed, discussing the main implications for the geodynamic evolution of the Tyrrhenian - Apennines foreland system

Use of formative research in developing a knowledge translation approach to rotavirus vaccine introduction in developing countries

BACKGROUND: Rotavirus gastroenteritis is the leading cause of diarrheal disease mortality among children under five, resulting in 450,000 to 700,000 deaths each year, and another 2 million hospitalizations, mostly in the developing world. Nearly every child in the world is infected with rotavirus at least once before they are five years old. Vaccines to prevent rotavirus or minimize its severity are now becoming available, and have already been introduced into the public vaccine programs of several Latin American countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has made rotavirus vaccine introduction in developing countries a high priority. The WHOs Guidelines for Vaccine Introduction indicates that a key determinant to achieving vaccine introduction is the public health priority of the disease, suggesting that where the disease is not a priority uptake of the vaccine is unlikely. WHO recommends conducting a qualitative analysis of opinions held by the public health community to determine the perceptions of the disease and the priority given to the vaccine. METHODS: This paper presents the formative research results of a qualitative survey of public health providers in five low- and middle-income countries to determine if and to what degree rotavirus is perceived to be a problem and the priority of a vaccine. Open-ended surveys were carried out through focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews. RESULTS: Researchers discovered that in all five countries knowledge of rotavirus was extremely low, and as a result was not considered a high priority. However, diarrhea among young children was considered a high priority among public health providers in the three poorest countries with relatively high levels of child mortality: India, Indonesia, and Nicaragua. CONCLUSION: In the poorest countries, advocacy and communication efforts to raise awareness about rotavirus sufficient for prioritization and accelerated vaccine introduction might benefit from a knowledge translation approach that delivers information and evidence about rotavirus through the broader context of diarrheal disease control, an existing priority, and including information about other new interventions, specifically low-osmolarity oral rehydration solution and zinc treatment

CD171- and GD2-specific CAR-T cells potently target retinoblastoma cells in preclinical in vitro testing

BACKGROUND: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based T cell therapy is in early clinical trials to target the neuroectodermal tumor, neuroblastoma. No preclinical or clinical efficacy data are available for retinoblastoma to date. Whereas unilateral intraocular retinoblastoma is cured by enucleation of the eye, infiltration of the optic nerve indicates potential diffuse scattering and tumor spread leading to a major therapeutic challenge. CAR-T cell therapy could improve the currently limited therapeutic strategies for metastasized retinoblastoma by simultaneously killing both primary tumor and metastasizing malignant cells and by reducing chemotherapy-related late effects. METHODS: CD171 and GD2 expression was flow cytometrically analyzed in 11 retinoblastoma cell lines. CD171 expression and T cell infiltration (CD3+) was immunohistochemically assessed in retrospectively collected primary retinoblastomas. The efficacy of CAR-T cells targeting the CD171 and GD2 tumor-associated antigens was preclinically tested against three antigen-expressing retinoblastoma cell lines. CAR-T cell activation and exhaustion were assessed by cytokine release assays and flow cytometric detection of cell surface markers, and killing ability was assessed in cytotoxic assays. CAR constructs harboring different extracellular spacer lengths (short/long) and intracellular co-stimulatory domains (CD28/4-1BB) were compared to select the most potent constructs. RESULTS: All retinoblastoma cell lines investigated expressed CD171 and GD2. CD171 was expressed in 15/30 primary retinoblastomas. Retinoblastoma cell encounter strongly activated both CD171-specific and GD2-specific CAR-T cells. Targeting either CD171 or GD2 effectively killed all retinoblastoma cell lines examined. Similar activation and killing ability for either target was achieved by all CAR constructs irrespective of the length of the extracellular spacers and the co-stimulatory domain. Cell lines differentially lost tumor antigen expression upon CAR-T cell encounter, with CD171 being completely lost by all tested cell lines and GD2 further down-regulated in cell lines expressing low GD2 levels before CAR-T cell challenge. Alternating the CAR-T cell target in sequential challenges enhanced retinoblastoma cell killing. CONCLUSION: Both CD171 and GD2 are effective targets on human retinoblastoma cell lines, and CAR-T cell therapy is highly effective against retinoblastoma in vitro. Targeting of two different antigens by sequential CAR-T cell applications enhanced tumor cell killing and preempted tumor antigen loss in preclinical testing