Statistische Analyse der Arbeitsunfähigkeit in einer deutschen Landarztpraxis

Zur Beschreibung der Arbeitsunfähigkeit (AU) dienten Daten von 490 Patienten einer deutschen Landarztpraxis zwischen 1998 und 2004 mit 2033 AU-Episoden und 15591 AU-Tagen. Resultate: Frauen waren im Durchschnitt länger und häufiger arbeitsunfähig. Eine kleine „Hochnutzergruppe“ (13% der Patienten) wies eine AU-Summe von mehr als 60 Tagen auf und generierte 61,2% der AU-Tage im Kollektiv. In der Hochnutzer-Gruppe fanden sich signifikant häufiger Frauen, Patienten mit psychischen Erkrankungen sowie mit einer AU-Episode von mehr als 15 Tagen in Folge. Die AU-Belastung sank von 1998 - 2003 um 41%. Das Rauchverhalten korrelierte mit der Häufigkeit einer AU durch Atemwegsinfekte. Die Verteilung und Größenordnung der sechs häufigsten AU-Diagnosen im eigenen Kollektiv entsprachen den Daten gesetzlicher Krankenversicherer. Die Merkmale der Hochnutzer-Gruppe indizieren Risikofaktoren einer ungünstigen AU-Entwicklung. Die Bedeutung der AU für die Arzt-Patienten Interaktion wird beleuchtet

Sewerage tunnel leakage detection using a fibre optic moisture-detecting sensor system

The design and development of a new fibre optic sensor system for the optical detection of leakages in sewerage tunnels is reported. The system developed overcomes the disadvantages of the usually employed camera based inspection systems which are relatively complex and, in addition, require cleaning of the structures to be monitored beforehand. The sensor concept created combines a Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG)-based humidity sensor and a swellable polymeric fibre optic sensor. Both sensors are located along the sewerage tunnel so that they can response immediately to any leakages that may occur. The swellable polymeric fibre optic sensor shows a response of 34.2 dB in the presence of water, a performance which is superior to that seen form other swellable polymeric fibre optic sensors reported so far. Furthermore, the resistance of both sensors to highly alkaline environments (pH 13.4), an important feature of such sensors was verified. Consequently, when compared to the use of conventional inspection techniques, the novel fibre optic sensor system provides a robust, relatively low-cost and continuous monitoring system well suited to use in sewerage tunnels

Fibre optic humidity sensor designed for highly alkaline environments

This paper presents the design of a sensor packaging for a Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) based fibre optic humidity sensor. The evaluation of the developed fibre optic sensor was performed under experimental conditions and verified its capability to withstand highly alkaline environments. Therefore, the sensor can be applied to monitor the concrete humidity level and thus to indicate the maintenance of concrete structures

Structural insights into crista junction formation by the Mic60-Mic19 complex

Mitochondrial cristae membranes are the oxidative phosphorylation sites in cells. Crista junctions (CJs) form the highly curved neck regions of cristae and are thought to function as selective entry gates into the cristae space. Little is known about how CJs are generated and maintained. We show that the central coiled-coil (CC) domain of the mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system subunit Mic60 forms an elongated, bow tie–shaped tetrameric assembly. Mic19 promotes Mic60 tetramerization via a conserved interface between the Mic60 mitofilin and Mic19 CHCH (CC-helix-CC-helix) domains. Dimerization of mitofilin domains exposes a crescent-shaped membrane-binding site with convex curvature tailored to interact with the curved CJ neck. Our study suggests that the Mic60-Mic19 subcomplex traverses CJs as a molecular strut, thereby controlling CJ architecture and function

3D diffractive imaging of nanoparticle ensembles using an X-ray laser

We report the 3D structure determination of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by X-ray single particle imaging (SPI). Around 10 million diffraction patterns from gold nanoparticles were measured in less than 100 hours of beam time, more than 100 times the amount of data in any single prior SPI experiment, using the new capabilities of the European X-ray free electron laser which allow measurements of 1500 frames per second. A classification and structural sorting method was developed to disentangle the heterogeneity of the particles and to obtain a resolution of better than 3 nm. With these new experimental and analytical developments, we have entered a new era for the SPI method and the path towards close-to-atomic resolution imaging of biomolecules is apparent

Observation of a single protein by ultrafast X-ray diffraction

The idea of using ultrashort X-ray pulses to obtain images of single proteins frozen in time has fascinated and inspired many. It was one of the arguments for building X-ray free-electron lasers. According to theory1, the extremely intense pulses provide sufficient signal to dispense with using crystals as an amplifier, and the ultrashort pulse duration permits capturing the diffraction data before the sample inevitably explodes2. This was first demonstrated on biological samples a decade ago on the giant mimivirus3. Since then a large collaboration4 has been pushing the limit of the smallest sample that can be imaged5,6. The ability to capture snapshots on the timescale of atomic vibrations, while keeping the sample at room temperature, may allow probing the entire conformational phase space of macromolecules. Here we show the first observation of an X-ray diffraction pattern from a single protein, that of Escherichia coli GroEL which at 14 nm in diameter7 is the smallest biological sample ever imaged by X-rays, and demonstrate that the concept of diffraction before destruction extends to single proteins. From the pattern, it is possible to determine the approximate orientation of the protein. Our experiment demonstrates the feasibility of ultrafast imaging of single proteins, opening the way to single-molecule time-resolved studies on the femtosecond timescale

The management of acute venous thromboembolism in clinical practice. Results from the European PREFER in VTE Registry

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe. Data from real-world registries are necessary, as clinical trials do not represent the full spectrum of VTE patients seen in clinical practice. We aimed to document the epidemiology, management and outcomes of VTE using data from a large, observational database. PREFER in VTE was an international, non-interventional disease registry conducted between January 2013 and July 2015 in primary and secondary care across seven European countries. Consecutive patients with acute VTE were documented and followed up over 12 months. PREFER in VTE included 3,455 patients with a mean age of 60.8 ± 17.0 years. Overall, 53.0 % were male. The majority of patients were assessed in the hospital setting as inpatients or outpatients (78.5 %). The diagnosis was deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) in 59.5 % and pulmonary embolism (PE) in 40.5 %. The most common comorbidities were the various types of cardiovascular disease (excluding hypertension; 45.5 %), hypertension (42.3 %) and dyslipidaemia (21.1 %). Following the index VTE, a large proportion of patients received initial therapy with heparin (73.2 %), almost half received a vitamin K antagonist (48.7 %) and nearly a quarter received a DOAC (24.5 %). Almost a quarter of all presentations were for recurrent VTE, with >80 % of previous episodes having occurred more than 12 months prior to baseline. In conclusion, PREFER in VTE has provided contemporary insights into VTE patients and their real-world management, including their baseline characteristics, risk factors, disease history, symptoms and signs, initial therapy and outcomes

Compensating defects in Si-doped AlN bulk crystals

The rather low n-type conductivity observed in. Si-doped sublimation-grown AlN bulk crystals is explained by the formation of high concentrations of compensating defects. The model is based on the experimental verification of a shallow impurity band formed by Si donors and the presence of acceptor-like electron traps within 1 eV below the conduction band edge. Further it is suggested that the majority of the Si donors is compensated by deep acceptors in the lower half of the band gap. This compensation model is an alternative to the controversially discussed assumption of Si DX center formation. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved