The Self-reported Health of Immigrant Groups in Switzerland

Background: More than 20% of people living in Switzerland are immigrants, defined as people with foreign nationality. This study examines health disparities between the main immigrant groups in Switzerland and the majority Swiss population. Methods: Epidemiological analysis of the 2002 Swiss Health Survey (SHS): the SHS contains health-related information about 19,706 people who were randomly sampled from among people living in Switzerland. Bi-variate and multivariate analyses of six variables on self-reported health were performed. Findings: The data from the 2002 Swiss Health Survey provide some evidence of health disparities between Swiss people and immigrants. Although the self-reported health of "Northern immigrants” (people from Germany and France) does not differ significantly from that of the majority Swiss population, "Southern immigrants” (people from Italy, Former Yugoslavia, Portugal, Spain and Turkey) report lower levels of health in several areas. Lower levels of health are particularly likely to be reported by Italian men and women. Conclusion: The self-reported health of immigrants is currently inferior to that of the Swiss. If it is the position of the Swiss health care system to ensure equal health provision for all Swiss residents, including immigrant groups, and to strive for equal health outcomes for all, self-reported ill health among immigrants is a useful basis for health policy and plannin

Applications and Challenges of Task Mining: A Literature Review

Task mining is a technological innovation that combines current developments in process mining and data mining. Using task mining, the interactions of workers with their workstations can be recorded, processed, and linked with the business data of the organization. The approach can provide a holistic picture of the business processes and related tasks. Currently, there is no overview of application scenarios and the challenges of task mining. In our work, we reflect application scenarios as well as technological, legal, and organizational challenges of task mining using a structured literature review. The application areas include discovery of automation potentials, monitoring, as well as optimization of business processes. The challenges include the cleansing, collection, data protection, explainability, merging, organization, processing, and segmentation of task mining data

Towards Weakly-Supervised Hate Speech Classification Across Datasets

As pointed out by several scholars, current research on hate speech (HS) recognition is characterized by unsystematic data creation strategies and diverging annotation schemata. Subsequently, supervised-learning models tend to generalize poorly to datasets they were not trained on, and the performance of the models trained on datasets labeled using different HS taxonomies cannot be compared. To ease this problem, we propose applying extremely weak supervision that only relies on the class name rather than on class samples from the annotated data. We demonstrate the effectiveness of a state-of-the-art weakly-supervised text classification model in various in-dataset and cross-dataset settings. Furthermore, we conduct an in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis of the source of poor generalizability of HS classification models.Comment: Accepted to WOAH 7@ACL 202

Rosiglitazone Affects Nitric Oxide Synthases and Improves Renal Outcome in a Rat Model of Severe Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

Background. Nitric oxide (NO)-signal transduction plays an important role in renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. NO produced by endothelial NO-synthase (eNOS) has protective functions whereas NO from inducible NO-synthase (iNOS) induces impairment. Rosiglitazone (RGZ), a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ agonist exerted beneficial effects after renal I/R injury, so we investigated whether this might be causally linked with NOS imbalance. Methods. RGZ (5 mg/kg) was administered i.p. to SD-rats (f) subjected to bilateral renal ischemia (60 min). Following 24 h of reperfusion, inulin- and PAH-clearance as well as PAH-net secretion were determined. Morphological alterations were graded by histopathological scoring. Plasma NOx-production was measured. eNOS and iNOS expression was analyzed by qPCR. Cleaved caspase 3 (CC3) was determined as an apoptosis indicator and ED1 as a marker of macrophage infiltration in renal tissue. Results. RGZ improves renal function after renal I/R injury (PAH-/inulin-clearance, PAH-net secretion) and reduces histomorphological injury. Additionally, RGZ reduces NOx plasma levels, ED-1 positive cell infiltration and CC3 expression. iNOS-mRNA is reduced whereas eNOS-mRNA is increased by RGZ. Conclusion. RGZ has protective properties after severe renal I/R injury. Alterations of the NO pathway regarding eNOS and iNOS could be an explanation of the underlying mechanism of RGZ protection in renal I/R injury

QUANOMET : Eine Forschungslinie der strategischen Allianz Braunschweig - Hannover

Die Quanten- und Nanometrologie (QUANOMET) verfolgt die methodische Weiterentwicklung und Innovation immer präziserer und empfindlicherer Messverfahren und ist eine von drei Forschungslinien eines Wissenschaftsbündnisses zwischen der Leibniz Universität Hannover und der Technischen Universität Braunschweig. Wissenschaftler beider Hochschulen berichten, wie das Projekt entstanden ist und welche Ziele es hat

Integrativer Ansatz zum Ausbau berufsrelevanter Schlüsselkompetenzen in der Ingenieurausbildung

Durch den Bologna-Prozess gewann die insbesondere in den Ingenieurwissen­schaf­ten existierende Forderung nach fachübergreifenden Studieninhalten eine neue Dynamik. Im Rahmen der Modifizierung und Neugestaltung der Curricula für Bachelor- und Masterabschlüsse entstanden Möglichkeiten, den Erwerb von Schlüs­­selkompetenzen in die universitäre Ausbildung zu integrieren. In diesem Zug wurden im Rahmen des Maschinenbau-Studiums am Karlsruher Institut für Tech­nologie (KIT) Ansätze zur integrativen Vermitt­lung dieser Kompetenzen ent­wickelt, die in die Konzeption einer Lehrveranstaltung mit dem Titel "Arbeits­tech­niken für den Maschi­nenbau" mündeten, deren Konzept und Umsetzung hier erläu­tert wird. 19.10.2012 | Katja Poser, Katrin Klink, Anke Diez & Alexander Wanner (Karlsruhe

Detection of Viral Infection and Bacterial Coinfection and Superinfection in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department Using the 29-mRNA Host Response Classifier IMX-BVN-3: A Multicenter Study.

Background Identification of bacterial coinfection in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) facilitates appropriate initiation or withholding of antibiotics. The Inflammatix Bacterial Viral Noninfected (IMX-BVN) classifier determines the likelihood of bacterial and viral infections. In a multicenter study, we investigated whether IMX-BVN version 3 (IMX-BVN-3) identifies patients with COVID-19 and bacterial coinfections or superinfections. Methods Patients with polymerase chain reaction-confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled in Berlin, Germany; Basel, Switzerland; and Cleveland, Ohio upon emergency department or hospital admission. PAXgene Blood RNA was extracted and 29 host mRNAs were quantified. IMX-BVN-3 categorized patients into very unlikely, unlikely, possible, and very likely bacterial and viral interpretation bands. IMX-BVN-3 results were compared with clinically adjudicated infection status. Results IMX-BVN-3 categorized 102 of 111 (91.9%) COVID-19 patients into very likely or possible, 7 (6.3%) into unlikely, and 2 (1.8%) into very unlikely viral bands. Approximately 94% of patients had IMX-BVN-3 unlikely or very unlikely bacterial results. Among 7 (6.3%) patients with possible (n = 4) or very likely (n = 3) bacterial results, 6 (85.7%) had clinically adjudicated bacterial coinfection or superinfection. Overall, 19 of 111 subjects for whom adjudication was performed had a bacterial infection; 7 of these showed a very likely or likely bacterial result in IMX-BVN-3. Conclusions IMX-BVN-3 identified COVID-19 patients as virally infected and identified bacterial coinfections and superinfections. Future studies will determine whether a point-of-care version of the classifier may improve the management of COVID-19 patients, including appropriate antibiotic use

Functional Comparison of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell- and Blood-Derived GPIIbIIIa Deficient Platelets

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) represent a versatile tool to model genetic diseases and are a potential source for cell transfusion therapies. However, it remains elusive to which extent patient-specific hiPSC-derived cells functionally resemble their native counterparts. Here, we generated a hiPSC model of the primary platelet disease Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT), characterized by dysfunction of the integrin receptor GPIIbIIIa, and compared side-by-side healthy and diseased hiPSC-derived platelets with peripheral blood platelets. Both GT-hiPSC-derived platelets and their peripheral blood equivalents showed absence of membrane expression of GPIIbIIIa, a reduction of PAC-1 binding, surface spreading and adherence to fibrinogen. We demonstrated that GT-hiPSC-derived platelets recapitulate molecular and functional aspects of the disease and show comparable behavior to their native counterparts encouraging the further use of hiPSC-based disease models as well as the transition towards a clinical application

Hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge : new improvements in phosphatic fertilizer production and process water treatment using freeze concentration

In recent years, promising developments in the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of sewage sludge, as well as the potential to reclaim phosphorus and nitrogen, have emerged. In this study, the HTC of digested sewage sludge (DSS) was investigated for the downstream production of heavy metal (HM)-free fertilizer and the use of freeze concentration (FC) as a novel technology for process water treatment. To obtain clean fertilizer, phosphatic acid extracts were first treated with ion-exchange resins to remove dissolved HM, as well as phosphorus precipitating agents (i.e., aluminum and iron). Over 98% of the aluminum (Al) and 97% of the iron (Fe) could be removed in a single treatment step. The purified extract was then used for the precipitation of HM-free struvite crystals, with P-recovery rates exceeding 89%. Process water (PW) makes up the largest share of the two main HTC-products (i.e., hydrochar and PW) and is very rich in organic compounds. Compared to evaporation or membrane separation, FC is a promising technology for concentrating solutes from PW. Separation experiments resulted in the recovery of over 90% of the dissolved compounds in the concentrate. In our study, the concentrate was later utilized as an ammonium source for struvite precipitation, and the subsequent aerobic digestion of the remaining ice water resulted in an 85% reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD) in 15 days

Lateglacial and Holocene climate and environmental change in the northeastern Mediterranean region: Diatom evidence from Lake Dojran (Republic of Macedonia/Greece)

The juncture between the west-east and north-south contrasting Holocene climatic domains across the Mediterranean is complex and poorly understood. Diatom analysis of Lake Dojran (Republic of Macedonia/Greece) provides a new insight into lake levels and trophic status during the Lateglacial and Holocene periods in the northeastern Mediterranean. Following a very shallow or even desiccated state at the core base at ca. 12,500 cal yr BP, indicated by sedimentological and hydro-acoustic data, diatoms indicate lake infilling, from a shallow state with abundant benthos to a plankton-dominated relatively high lake level and eutrophic state thereafter. Diatom-inferred shallowing between ca. 12,400 - 12,000 cal yr BP and a very low lake level and eutrophic, oligosaline state between ca. 12,000 - 11,500 cal yr BP provide strong evidence for Younger Dryas aridity. The earliest Holocene (ca. 11,500 - 10,700 cal yr BP) was characterised by a high lake level, followed by a lake-level reduction and increased trophic level between ca. 10,700-8,500 cal yr BP. The lake was relatively deep and exhibited peak Holocene trophic level between ca. 8,500-3,000 cal yr BP, becoming shallow thereafter. The diatom data provide more robust evidence and strengthen previous lake-level interpretation based on sedimentological and geochemical data during the earliest, mid and late Holocene, and also clarify previous uncertainty in interpretation of Lateglacial and early-Holocene lake-level change. Our results are also important in disentangling regional climate effects from local catchment dynamics during the Holocene, and to this end we exploit extant regional palynological evidence for vegetation change in the highlands and lowlands. The importance of seasonality in driving Holocene climate change is assessed by reference to the summer and winter latitudinal temperature gradient (LTG) model of Davis and Brewer (2009). We suggest that increased precipitation drove the high lake level during the earliest Holocene. The early- Holocene low lake level and relatively high trophic state may result climatically from high seasonality of precipitation and locally from limited, nutrient-rich catchment runoff. We argue that the mid- Holocene relatively deep and eutrophic state was driven mainly by local vegetation succession and associated changes in catchment processes, rather than showing a close relationship to climate change. The late-Holocene shallow state may have been influenced by a temperature-induced increase in evaporative concentration, but was coupled with clear evidence for intensified human impact. This study improves understanding of Lateglacial and Holocene climate change in the northeastern Mediterranean, suggests the important role of the LTG on moisture availability during the Holocene, and clarifies the influence of catchment processes on palaeohydrology