Parachute Engineers in Combat, Ortona 1943: A German Perspective

In late 1943, Allied forces were fighting their way up the Italian peninsula. It was tough going. Broken terrain hindered the advance and well-armed, well-led German defenders fought for nearly every river corssing, hill, and village. On 6 December, Canadian troops, operating on the far right of the Allied line, began to cross the Moro River on the Adriatic coast, battling north through a series of small towns, farms, and ravines. First Canadian Infantry Division under Major-General Chris Vokes, pushing up the coastal highway, met bitter resistance at “The Gully,” a natural feature just north of the Moro. After being driven from this objective, German troops of the 76th Panzer Corps, including two elite parachute battalions, prepared to defend the ancient coastal town of Ortona, whose stout buildings provided scores of excellent defensive positions. The Canadians attacked nevertheless and spent the Christmas season in a bloody house-to-house struggle against determined opposition. By 27 December, with German troops retreating northward, the Canadians had prevailed, though at heavy cost. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment suffered 172 casualties at Ortona, the Seaforth Highlanders 103. Other units’ losses in and around the town, including those of the 12th Armoured Regiment Three Rivers Regiment, brought total Canadian casualties during the battle to 350. While there are numerous Canadian accounts of the battle of Ortona, there are few accounts in English of the fighting from the German perspective. Recently the Canadian War Museum acquired a copy of the following memoir through the good offices of Alex MacQuarrie of HSN Linguistic Services, Ottawa. The narrative, translated by Mr. MacQuarrie, is written by Parachute Combat Engineer Carl Bayerlein (Service No. L25475), 3rd Platoon, 3rd Company, 1st Parachute Combat Engineer Battalion, 1 Parachute Infantry Division. It covers the period of 10–27 December 1943 and consists of two parts: a day-by-day diary account, and a somewhat longer summary, based on the diary entries, but compiled in the early 1990s. The edited version that follows is drawn from the summary account

The EU's open strategic autonomy in the field of pharmaceuticals: overcoming import dependencies for antibiotics through the EU authority HERA

The COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine have highlighted the dependence of the European Union (EU) on individual trading partners. One of the tasks of the European Commission's new Directorate-General, the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), established in 2021, will therefore be to contribute to the EU's "open strategic autonomy" by identifying and eliminating import dependencies in the field of pharmaceuticals. HERA's work thus aligns with current EU efforts to reduce concentrated import risks. Here, three aspects of this work are particularly important: the identification of dependencies, the development of strategies to over­come them and the incorporation of these strategies within global health governance. (author's abstract

Student learning opportunities in traditional and computer-mediated internships

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a student learning outcome focussed assessment of the benefits and limitations of traditional internships, e-internships, and simulated internships to evaluate the potential of computer-mediated internships (CMIs) (e-internships and simulated internships) within higher education from a student perspective. Design/methodology/approach: The paper undertakes a systematic conceptually based assessment of the extent to which CMIs are able to replicate the cognitive, skill-based and affective learning outcomes of traditional internships. In addition, the key limitations of traditional internships from a student perspective are identified, and the potential ability of CMIs to address these limitations is assessed. Findings: The findings of this paper highlight that CMIs are able to replicate most of the benefits of traditional internships, whilst concurrently addressing many of their limitations. However, the current paper also identifies a number of important limitations for student learning in CMIs, and provides advice that aims to assist students in maximising their learning outcomes in these situations. Originality/value: The paper is the first to provide a systematic student learning outcome focussed comparison of traditional internships and CMIs. In addition, the paper establishes the high potential of simulated internships for student learning in higher education, and provides students, higher education providers and researcher with learning outcome focussed criteria sets that enable the empirical evaluation of CMIs in future research

Environmentally controlled modulus mapping of biocomposite materials employing the concept of effective mass

Living organisms are known to form a large variety of mineral-organic composite structures with mechanical properties that combine high stiffness, strength, toughness and perform at different levels of relative humidity (RH). Usually, the organic components are spatially limited to sub-micrometer features and are confined by a much stiffer mineral material. Mechanical characterization of these organic features, whose properties are strongly influenced by RH, presents a real technical challenge. In the present work we demonstrate our ability to measure environmentally dependent static and dynamic mechanical performance of 1 µm thick organic films in the prismatic layer of the mollusc shell Pinna nobilis employing the nanoscale modulus mapping technique. Two recent developments were utilized during the mechanical characterization process: (1) Environmental control during measurements enabled us to perform the modulus mapping in RH ranging from 0 to 98% [1]; (2) The concept of effective mass of the nanoindenter tip/sample configuration enabled us to account for drastic changes in elastic properties of the organic phase with increasing RH [2]. The possibilities and the limitations of this methodology with regards to structural and mechanical properties of the studied prismatic microstructure in the shell will be discussed

"One Health" and global health governance: design and implementation at the international, European, and German levels

The "One Health" approach has found its way into political processes at various levels. The reason for this is the increased occurrence of zoonoses, i.e. infectious diseases that can be reciprocally transmitted between animals and humans. One Health is located at the intersection of human, animal, and ecosystem health on the one hand and calls for trans-sectoral solutions on the other. Numerous substantive issues beleaguer the practical design of the One Health approach as well as its implementation by the World Health Organization (WHO), regional institutions, and states. One Health is currently being addressed in three contexts in particular: in the negotiations on the pandemic treaty, in the EU's Global Health Strategy, and in the German government’s strategy on global health. (author's abstract

Performance of a single interface in a biocomposite structure measured using microcantilever modulation experiment

Biological mineral-organic composite materials are known to be tough, stiff, stable, viscoelastic bodies capable to creep, recover, absorb energy and even filter particular vibrations. This exceptional mechanical functionality is associated with intricate hierarchical architectures of biocomposites which often consist of stiff mineral units surrounded by extremely thin organic interfaces. The latter play a critical but poorly understood role in the unique static and dynamic performance of the bulk. In this work we propose a new method to study static and dynamic mechanical performance of a single thin interface in a biocomposite structure which is based on force modulation experiment (performed using nanoindentation instrumentation) of a microbeam containing one individual interface (prepared by Focused Ion Beam milling technique

Untersuchungen zur Pathophysiologie der experimentellen Pneumokokkenmeningitis: Mechanismen der Immuninduktion (Rolle des Transkriptionsfaktors NF-kappaB) und der Immunregulation (Bedeutung von Mastzellen)

Trotz wirksamer Antibiotikatherapie, Immunmodulation durch Steroide und spezialisierter intensivmedizinischer Behandlung ist die Prognose der Pneumokokkenmeningitis weiterhin ungünstig. Aufgrund zentralnervöser und systemischer Komplikationen versterben weiterhin 15 bis 35 Prozent der Erkrankten und ein Drittel der überlebenden Patienten leidet an bleibenden neurologischen Schäden. Für die Entwicklung neuer adjuvanter Behandlungsstrategien ist die Kenntnis der Pathophysiologie von zentraler Bedeutung. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden Mechanismen der Immuninduktion (am Beispiel der Rolle des Transkriptionsfaktors NF-kappaB, der an der Transkription zahlreicher Entzündungsmediatoren beteiligt ist) und der Immunregulation (am Beispiel der Bedeutung von Mastzellen, deren Bedeutung für die Erregerabwehr im Rahmen der angeborenen Immunantwort man zunehmend erkennt)untersucht. 1. Die Rolle des Transkriptionsfaktors NF-kappaB Die Studie wurden mittels eines Rattenmodell durchgeführt, in dem zahlreiche pathophysiologische Parameter intrakranieller meningitisassoziierter Komplikationen, wie vaskuläres Hirnödem, intrakranieller Druck oder zerebrovaskuläre Autoregulation untersucht werden können. Die Pneumokokkenmeningitis war mit einem Anstieg der NF-kappaB-Aktivität im Gehirn assoziiert, der durch die Behandlung mit NF-kappaB-Inhibitoren gehemmt werden konnte, was zu einem signifikant besseren klinischen Verlauf führte. Dieser günstige Effekt auf die klinische Symptomatik wurde von einer signifikanten Reduktion der Bluthirnschrankenstörung, des Anstiegs des intrakraniellen Druckes, der Störung von zerebrovaskulärer CO2-Reaktivität und Autoregulation sowie von Liquorpleozytose und IL-6-Liquorkonzentration begleitet. Zusammenfassend legen diese Daten nahe, dass die NF-kappaB-Aktivierung eine zentrale Rolle in der Entstehung der meningealen Entzündung und der ZNS-Komplikationen während des Akutstadiums der bakteriellen Meningitis spielt. 2. Die Bedeutung der Mastzelle Die Untersuchungen hierzu wurden an einem Modell mit mastzelldefizienten WBB6F1/J-KitW/KitW-v-Mäusen durchgeführt. Während der Pneumokokkenmeningitis kam es zu einer Aktivierung von Mastzellen im Gehirn. Bei mastzelldefizienten Mäusen verlief die Erkrankung klinisch signifikant milder als bei Wildtypmäusen und mastzellrekonstituierten Tieren. Diese positive Auswirkung der Mastzelldefizienz auf die Klinik wurde von einer Reduktion systemischer und zentralnervöser Komplikationen wie Pneumonie und Anstieg des intrakraniellen Drucks begleitet. Erstaunlicherweise führte die Mastzelldefizienz zu einer massiven Zunahme der Liquorpleozytose, die nicht von relevanten Unterschieden der pneumokokkeninduzierten Entzündungsantwort oder der bakteriellen Vermehrung begleitet war. Zusammenfassend zeigen die Ergebnisse dieser Studie, dass Mastzellen eine signifikante Rolle bei der Pneumokokkenmeningitis im Mausmodell spielen. Sie sind beteiligt an der Entstehung systemischer und zentralnervöser Komplikationen und damit an einem schweren klinischen Krankheitsverlauf. Überraschend ist, dass Mastzellen inhibitorischen Effekt auf die Neutrophilenrekrutierung in das ZNS besitzen