Are homeopathics able to replace antibiotics in the therapy of bovine mastitis? A placebo controlled randomized double-blind trial

To evaluate the effects of homeopathics on clinical mastitis cows and herd udder health this investigation was conducted in a Brandenburg bio-dyn herd of about 300 cows in two phases using a randomized doubleblind control trial design. After the first part in July 2002 the results preliminarily were evaluated and then the whole concept due to unsatisfying results was adapted. In Phase 1 a number of 121 clinical mastitis cases with 137 affected quarters matched the including criteria, in Phase 2 the number was 126 cows with 148 quarters. These animals were allocated to a code number which classified the case to Verum (n=65 and n=60) or placebo group (n=56 and n=66). In case of clinical mastitis cows were treated either by the oral dilution contending the required combined homeopathics or placebo. Animals were treated twice a day for 5 to 14 days (Phase 2: 1 to 7 days) depending on development of disease. In case of therapy failure in Phase 1 all animals were treated by an not coded homeopathic preparation and in Phase 2 by antibiotics according to bacteriological findings. Milk samples (double samples) for bacteriological and cell count investigation were taken before treatment (M1), 4 to 5 weeks after treatment termination (M2) and 7 to 8 weeks after treatment termination (M3). To evaluate the herd situation additional samples were taken after calving and before dry off. Healing criteria on the cow level was the clinical cure without secondary therapy and release to production. On quarter level the cure was determined by bacterial findings (BCR) and additional by cytological findings. A quarter was determined as „completely cured“, if no bacteria were found AND the cell count was below 100.000/ml. To assess the reduction of antibiotics within the concept it was hypothetically assumed that the mastitis cows had an average milk yield of 20,5 kg per day, was treated under conventional conditions by antibiotics over 3 days with a mean withdrawal time of 5 days (organic conditions x2). Afterwards, these theoretical values were compared to the extrapolated antibiotics input within our concept. Results While there is no difference between the cows in phase 1, on quarter level the verum group showed a significant higher complete cure rate than placebo group in Phase 2. These results are balanced by additional antibiotics treatment in case of therapy failure in the placebo group. The complete cure rate in the verum group after 8 weeks was 32% compared to 13% in placebo group (p<0.05). The limited cure results in single cows did not lead to an udder health depression of the herd. During the study the mean of somatic cell count could decreased by 100.000 cells/ml while the milk yield increased slightly by 250 kg/cow to 6.500 kg/cow/year. The number of actual antibiotic treatments during observation time compared to the number of mastitis cases which would be treated by antibiotics under conventionel conditions showed a reduction by 75%. The extrapolated reduction of milk loss by withdrawal was 25.000kg and the reduction of contaminated milk during treatment time was 13.100 kg per year for the herd. Discussion and Conclusions The increasing cure rates in the second part of the study are influenced by the enhancement of environmental preconditions in combination with the simplified therapy scheme. The therapists seemed to be more familiar with the fixed combinations of homeopathics so that positive effects of the homeopathics can be seen in this phase. After additional antibiotic treatments in case of therapy failure in specific infections (i.e. streptococci and staph. aureus) the cure rates could be elevated to a satisfying level. This fact shows that the limited and controlled use of antibiotics in organic herds can be helpful in the mastitis control. Regardless the conceptual modification to an antibiotic emergency concept, the massive reduction of antibiotics in combination with an increase of herd udder health justifies the therapy protocol in the second phase of the study. Hypothetically, the self cure of the animals is higher than known. The interaction between farmer or therapist and the cow could be a crucial criterion for the positive development of disease. As a conclusion, the integrated system consisting of preventive herd measures and complementary therapy added by limited antibiotic therapy. The precondition for the success is the attendance to optimize environmental conditions. The therapy system should be transparent, simple and easy to use. However, it is necessary to reflect every single mastitis case as a special one

Type I conventional dendritic cells and CD8+ T cells predict favorable clinical outcome of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most common tumor entities worldwide, with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection contributing to cancer development. Conventional therapies achieve only limited efficiency, especially in recurrent or metastatic HNSCC. As the immune landscape decisively impacts the survival of patients and treatment efficacy, this study comprehensively investigated the immunological tumor microenvironment (TME) and its association with patient outcome, with special focus on several dendritic cell (DC) and T lymphocyte subpopulations. Therefore, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor samples of 56 HNSCC patients, who have undergone resection and adjuvant radiotherapy, were analyzed by multiplex immunohistochemistry focusing on the detailed phenotypic characterization and spatial distribution of DCs, CD8+ T cells, and T-helper cell subsets in different tumor compartments. Immune cell densities and proportions were correlated with clinical characteristics of the whole HNSCC cohort and different HPV- or hypoxia-associated subcohorts. Tumor stroma was highly infiltrated by plasmacytoid DCs and T lymphocytes. Among the T-helper cells and CD8+ T cells, stromal regulatory T cells and intraepithelial exhausted CD8+ T cells expressing programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1+) and/or lymphocyte-activation gene-3 (LAG-3+) were the predominant phenotypes, indicating an immunosuppressive TME. HPV-associated tumors showed significantly higher infiltration of type I and type II conventional DCs (cDC1, cDC2) as well as several CD8+ T cell phenotypes including exhausted, activated, and proliferating T cells. On the contrary, tumors with hypoxia-associated gene signatures exhibited reduced infiltration for these immune cells. By multivariate Cox regression, immune-related prognostic factors were identified. Patient clusters defined by high infiltration of DCs and T lymphocytes combined with HPV positivity or low hypoxia showed significantly prolonged survival. Thereby, cDC1 and CD8+ T cells emerged as independent prognostic factors for local and distant recurrence. These results might contribute to the implementation of an immune cell infiltration score predicting HNSCC patients’ survival and such patient stratification might improve the design of future individualized radiochemo-(immuno)therapies

Ongoing strategies to improve the management of upper respiratory tract infections and reduce inappropriate antibiotic use particularly among lower and middle-income countries: findings and implications for the future

Introduction: Antibiotics are indispensable to maintaining human health; however, their overuse has resulted in resistant organisms, increasing morbidity, mortality and costs. Increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health threat, resulting in multiple campaigns across countries to improve appropriate antimicrobial use. This includes addressing the overuse of antimicrobials for self-limiting infections, such as upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), particularly in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where there is the greatest inappropriate use and where antibiotic utilization has increased the most in recent years. Consequently, there is a need to document current practices and successful initiatives in LMICs to improve future antimicrobial use. Methodology: Documentation of current epidemiology and management of URTIs, particularly in LMICs, as well as campaigns to improve future antimicrobial use and their influence where known. Results: Much concern remains regarding the prescribing and dispensing of antibiotics for URTIs among LMICs. This includes considerable self-purchasing, up to 100% of pharmacies in some LMICs. However, multiple activities are now ongoing to improve future use. These incorporate educational initiatives among all key stakeholder groups, as well as legislation and other activities to reduce self-purchasing as part of National Action Plans (NAPs). Further activities are still needed however. These include increased physician and pharmacist education, starting in medical and pharmacy schools; greater monitoring of prescribing and dispensing practices, including the development of pertinent quality indicators; and targeted patient information and health education campaigns. It is recognized that such activities are more challenging in LMICs given more limited resources and a lack of healthcare professionals. Conclusion: Initiatives will grow across LMICs to reduce inappropriate prescribing and dispensing of antimicrobials for URTIs as part of NAPs and other activities, and these will be monitored

Human Practice. Digital Ecologies. Our Future. : 14. Internationale Tagung Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2019) : Tagungsband

Erschienen bei: universi - Universitätsverlag Siegen. - ISBN: 978-3-96182-063-4Aus dem Inhalt: Track 1: Produktion & Cyber-Physische Systeme Requirements and a Meta Model for Exchanging Additive Manufacturing Capacities Service Systems, Smart Service Systems and Cyber- Physical Systems—What’s the difference? Towards a Unified Terminology Developing an Industrial IoT Platform – Trade-off between Horizontal and Vertical Approaches Machine Learning und Complex Event Processing: Effiziente Echtzeitauswertung am Beispiel Smart Factory Sensor retrofit for a coffee machine as condition monitoring and predictive maintenance use case Stakeholder-Analyse zum Einsatz IIoT-basierter Frischeinformationen in der Lebensmittelindustrie Towards a Framework for Predictive Maintenance Strategies in Mechanical Engineering - A Method-Oriented Literature Analysis Development of a matching platform for the requirement-oriented selection of cyber physical systems for SMEs Track 2: Logistic Analytics An Empirical Study of Customers’ Behavioral Intention to Use Ridepooling Services – An Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model Modeling Delay Propagation and Transmission in Railway Networks What is the impact of company specific adjustments on the acceptance and diffusion of logistic standards? Robust Route Planning in Intermodal Urban Traffic Track 3: Unternehmensmodellierung & Informationssystemgestaltung (Enterprise Modelling & Information Systems Design) Work System Modeling Method with Different Levels of Specificity and Rigor for Different Stakeholder Purposes Resolving Inconsistencies in Declarative Process Models based on Culpability Measurement Strategic Analysis in the Realm of Enterprise Modeling – On the Example of Blockchain-Based Initiatives for the Electricity Sector Zwischenbetriebliche Integration in der Möbelbranche: Konfigurationen und Einflussfaktoren Novices’ Quality Perceptions and the Acceptance of Process Modeling Grammars Entwicklung einer Definition für Social Business Objects (SBO) zur Modellierung von Unternehmensinformationen Designing a Reference Model for Digital Product Configurators Terminology for Evolving Design Artifacts Business Role-Object Specification: A Language for Behavior-aware Structural Modeling of Business Objects Generating Smart Glasses-based Information Systems with BPMN4SGA: A BPMN Extension for Smart Glasses Applications Using Blockchain in Peer-to-Peer Carsharing to Build Trust in the Sharing Economy Testing in Big Data: An Architecture Pattern for a Development Environment for Innovative, Integrated and Robust Applications Track 4: Lern- und Wissensmanagement (e-Learning and Knowledge Management) eGovernment Competences revisited – A Literature Review on necessary Competences in a Digitalized Public Sector Say Hello to Your New Automated Tutor – A Structured Literature Review on Pedagogical Conversational Agents Teaching the Digital Transformation of Business Processes: Design of a Simulation Game for Information Systems Education Conceptualizing Immersion for Individual Learning in Virtual Reality Designing a Flipped Classroom Course – a Process Model The Influence of Risk-Taking on Knowledge Exchange and Combination Gamified Feedback durch Avatare im Mobile Learning Alexa, Can You Help Me Solve That Problem? - Understanding the Value of Smart Personal Assistants as Tutors for Complex Problem Tasks Track 5: Data Science & Business Analytics Matching with Bundle Preferences: Tradeoff between Fairness and Truthfulness Applied image recognition: guidelines for using deep learning models in practice Yield Prognosis for the Agrarian Management of Vineyards using Deep Learning for Object Counting Reading Between the Lines of Qualitative Data – How to Detect Hidden Structure Based on Codes Online Auctions with Dual-Threshold Algorithms: An Experimental Study and Practical Evaluation Design Features of Non-Financial Reward Programs for Online Reviews: Evaluation based on Google Maps Data Topic Embeddings – A New Approach to Classify Very Short Documents Based on Predefined Topics Leveraging Unstructured Image Data for Product Quality Improvement Decision Support for Real Estate Investors: Improving Real Estate Valuation with 3D City Models and Points of Interest Knowledge Discovery from CVs: A Topic Modeling Procedure Online Product Descriptions – Boost for your Sales? Entscheidungsunterstützung durch historienbasierte Dienstreihenfolgeplanung mit Pattern A Semi-Automated Approach for Generating Online Review Templates Machine Learning goes Measure Management: Leveraging Anomaly Detection and Parts Search to Improve Product-Cost Optimization Bedeutung von Predictive Analytics für den theoretischen Erkenntnisgewinn in der IS-Forschung Track 6: Digitale Transformation und Dienstleistungen Heuristic Theorizing in Software Development: Deriving Design Principles for Smart Glasses-based Systems Mirroring E-service for Brick and Mortar Retail: An Assessment and Survey Taxonomy of Digital Platforms: A Platform Architecture Perspective Value of Star Players in the Digital Age Local Shopping Platforms – Harnessing Locational Advantages for the Digital Transformation of Local Retail Outlets: A Content Analysis A Socio-Technical Approach to Manage Analytics-as-a-Service – Results of an Action Design Research Project Characterizing Approaches to Digital Transformation: Development of a Taxonomy of Digital Units Expectations vs. Reality – Benefits of Smart Services in the Field of Tension between Industry and Science Innovation Networks and Digital Innovation: How Organizations Use Innovation Networks in a Digitized Environment Characterising Social Reading Platforms— A Taxonomy-Based Approach to Structure the Field Less Complex than Expected – What Really Drives IT Consulting Value Modularity Canvas – A Framework for Visualizing Potentials of Service Modularity Towards a Conceptualization of Capabilities for Innovating Business Models in the Industrial Internet of Things A Taxonomy of Barriers to Digital Transformation Ambidexterity in Service Innovation Research: A Systematic Literature Review Design and success factors of an online solution for cross-pillar pension information Track 7: IT-Management und -Strategie A Frugal Support Structure for New Software Implementations in SMEs How to Structure a Company-wide Adoption of Big Data Analytics The Changing Roles of Innovation Actors and Organizational Antecedents in the Digital Age Bewertung des Kundennutzens von Chatbots für den Einsatz im Servicedesk Understanding the Benefits of Agile Software Development in Regulated Environments Are Employees Following the Rules? On the Effectiveness of IT Consumerization Policies Agile and Attached: The Impact of Agile Practices on Agile Team Members’ Affective Organisational Commitment The Complexity Trap – Limits of IT Flexibility for Supporting Organizational Agility in Decentralized Organizations Platform Openness: A Systematic Literature Review and Avenues for Future Research Competence, Fashion and the Case of Blockchain The Digital Platform Otto.de: A Case Study of Growth, Complexity, and Generativity Track 8: eHealth & alternde Gesellschaft Security and Privacy of Personal Health Records in Cloud Computing Environments – An Experimental Exploration of the Impact of Storage Solutions and Data Breaches Patientenintegration durch Pfadsysteme Digitalisierung in der Stressprävention – eine qualitative Interviewstudie zu Nutzenpotenzialen User Dynamics in Mental Health Forums – A Sentiment Analysis Perspective Intent and the Use of Wearables in the Workplace – A Model Development Understanding Patient Pathways in the Context of Integrated Health Care Services - Implications from a Scoping Review Understanding the Habitual Use of Wearable Activity Trackers On the Fit in Fitness Apps: Studying the Interaction of Motivational Affordances and Users’ Goal Orientations in Affecting the Benefits Gained Gamification in Health Behavior Change Support Systems - A Synthesis of Unintended Side Effects Investigating the Influence of Information Incongruity on Trust-Relations within Trilateral Healthcare Settings Track 9: Krisen- und Kontinuitätsmanagement Potentiale von IKT beim Ausfall kritischer Infrastrukturen: Erwartungen, Informationsgewinnung und Mediennutzung der Zivilbevölkerung in Deutschland Fake News Perception in Germany: A Representative Study of People’s Attitudes and Approaches to Counteract Disinformation Analyzing the Potential of Graphical Building Information for Fire Emergency Responses: Findings from a Controlled Experiment Track 10: Human-Computer Interaction Towards a Taxonomy of Platforms for Conversational Agent Design Measuring Service Encounter Satisfaction with Customer Service Chatbots using Sentiment Analysis Self-Tracking and Gamification: Analyzing the Interplay of Motivations, Usage and Motivation Fulfillment Erfolgsfaktoren von Augmented-Reality-Applikationen: Analyse von Nutzerrezensionen mit dem Review-Mining-Verfahren Designing Dynamic Decision Support for Electronic Requirements Negotiations Who is Stressed by Using ICTs? A Qualitative Comparison Analysis with the Big Five Personality Traits to Understand Technostress Walking the Middle Path: How Medium Trade-Off Exposure Leads to Higher Consumer Satisfaction in Recommender Agents Theory-Based Affordances of Utilitarian, Hedonic and Dual-Purposed Technologies: A Literature Review Eliciting Customer Preferences for Shopping Companion Apps: A Service Quality Approach The Role of Early User Participation in Discovering Software – A Case Study from the Context of Smart Glasses The Fluidity of the Self-Concept as a Framework to Explain the Motivation to Play Video Games Heart over Heels? An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between Emotions and Review Helpfulness for Experience and Credence Goods Track 11: Information Security and Information Privacy Unfolding Concerns about Augmented Reality Technologies: A Qualitative Analysis of User Perceptions To (Psychologically) Own Data is to Protect Data: How Psychological Ownership Determines Protective Behavior in a Work and Private Context Understanding Data Protection Regulations from a Data Management Perspective: A Capability-Based Approach to EU-GDPR On the Difficulties of Incentivizing Online Privacy through Transparency: A Qualitative Survey of the German Health Insurance Market What is Your Selfie Worth? A Field Study on Individuals’ Valuation of Personal Data Justification of Mass Surveillance: A Quantitative Study An Exploratory Study of Risk Perception for Data Disclosure to a Network of Firms Track 12: Umweltinformatik und nachhaltiges Wirtschaften Kommunikationsfäden im Nadelöhr – Fachliche Prozessmodellierung der Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation am Kapitalmarkt Potentiale und Herausforderungen der Materialflusskostenrechnung Computing Incentives for User-Based Relocation in Carsharing Sustainability’s Coming Home: Preliminary Design Principles for the Sustainable Smart District Substitution of hazardous chemical substances using Deep Learning and t-SNE A Hierarchy of DSMLs in Support of Product Life-Cycle Assessment A Survey of Smart Energy Services for Private Households Door-to-Door Mobility Integrators as Keystone Organizations of Smart Ecosystems: Resources and Value Co-Creation – A Literature Review Ein Entscheidungsunterstützungssystem zur ökonomischen Bewertung von Mieterstrom auf Basis der Clusteranalyse Discovering Blockchain for Sustainable Product-Service Systems to enhance the Circular Economy Digitale Rückverfolgbarkeit von Lebensmitteln: Eine verbraucherinformatische Studie Umweltbewusstsein durch audiovisuelles Content Marketing? Eine experimentelle Untersuchung zur Konsumentenbewertung nachhaltiger Smartphones Towards Predictive Energy Management in Information Systems: A Research Proposal A Web Browser-Based Application for Processing and Analyzing Material Flow Models using the MFCA Methodology Track 13: Digital Work - Social, mobile, smart On Conversational Agents in Information Systems Research: Analyzing the Past to Guide Future Work The Potential of Augmented Reality for Improving Occupational First Aid Prevent a Vicious Circle! The Role of Organizational IT-Capability in Attracting IT-affine Applicants Good, Bad, or Both? Conceptualization and Measurement of Ambivalent User Attitudes Towards AI A Case Study on Cross-Hierarchical Communication in Digital Work Environments ‘Show Me Your People Skills’ - Employing CEO Branding for Corporate Reputation Management in Social Media A Multiorganisational Study of the Drivers and Barriers of Enterprise Collaboration Systems-Enabled Change The More the Merrier? The Effect of Size of Core Team Subgroups on Success of Open Source Projects The Impact of Anthropomorphic and Functional Chatbot Design Features in Enterprise Collaboration Systems on User Acceptance Digital Feedback for Digital Work? Affordances and Constraints of a Feedback App at InsurCorp The Effect of Marker-less Augmented Reality on Task and Learning Performance Antecedents for Cyberloafing – A Literature Review Internal Crowd Work as a Source of Empowerment - An Empirical Analysis of the Perception of Employees in a Crowdtesting Project Track 14: Geschäftsmodelle und digitales Unternehmertum Dividing the ICO Jungle: Extracting and Evaluating Design Archetypes Capturing Value from Data: Exploring Factors Influencing Revenue Model Design for Data-Driven Services Understanding the Role of Data for Innovating Business Models: A System Dynamics Perspective Business Model Innovation and Stakeholder: Exploring Mechanisms and Outcomes of Value Creation and Destruction Business Models for Internet of Things Platforms: Empirical Development of a Taxonomy and Archetypes Revitalizing established Industrial Companies: State of the Art and Success Principles of Digital Corporate Incubators When 1+1 is Greater than 2: Concurrence of Additional Digital and Established Business Models within Companies Special Track 1: Student Track Investigating Personalized Price Discrimination of Textile-, Electronics- and General Stores in German Online Retail From Facets to a Universal Definition – An Analysis of IoT Usage in Retail Is the Technostress Creators Inventory Still an Up-To-Date Measurement Instrument? Results of a Large-Scale Interview Study Application of Media Synchronicity Theory to Creative Tasks in Virtual Teams Using the Example of Design Thinking TrustyTweet: An Indicator-based Browser-Plugin to Assist Users in Dealing with Fake News on Twitter Application of Process Mining Techniques to Support Maintenance-Related Objectives How Voice Can Change Customer Satisfaction: A Comparative Analysis between E-Commerce and Voice Commerce Business Process Compliance and Blockchain: How Does the Ethereum Blockchain Address Challenges of Business Process Compliance? Improving Business Model Configuration through a Question-based Approach The Influence of Situational Factors and Gamification on Intrinsic Motivation and Learning Evaluation von ITSM-Tools für Integration und Management von Cloud-Diensten am Beispiel von ServiceNow How Software Promotes the Integration of Sustainability in Business Process Management Criteria Catalog for Industrial IoT Platforms from the Perspective of the Machine Tool Industry Special Track 3: Demos & Prototyping Privacy-friendly User Location Tracking with Smart Devices: The BeaT Prototype Application-oriented robotics in nursing homes Augmented Reality for Set-up Processe Mixed Reality for supporting Remote-Meetings Gamification zur Motivationssteigerung von Werkern bei der Betriebsdatenerfassung Automatically Extracting and Analyzing Customer Needs from Twitter: A “Needmining” Prototype GaNEsHA: Opportunities for Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities TUCANA: A platform for using local processing power of edge devices for building data-driven services Demonstrator zur Beschreibung und Visualisierung einer kritischen Infrastruktur Entwicklung einer alltagsnahen persuasiven App zur Bewegungsmotivation für ältere Nutzerinnen und Nutzer A browser-based modeling tool for studying the learning of conceptual modeling based on a multi-modal data collection approach Exergames & Dementia: An interactive System for People with Dementia and their Care-Network Workshops Workshop Ethics and Morality in Business Informatics (Workshop Ethik und Moral in der Wirtschaftsinformatik – EMoWI’19) Model-Based Compliance in Information Systems - Foundations, Case Description and Data Set of the MobIS-Challenge for Students and Doctoral Candidates Report of the Workshop on Concepts and Methods of Identifying Digital Potentials in Information Management Control of Systemic Risks in Global Networks - A Grand Challenge to Information Systems Research Die Mitarbeiter von morgen - Kompetenzen künftiger Mitarbeiter im Bereich Business Analytics Digitaler Konsum: Herausforderungen und Chancen der Verbraucherinformati

Barriers for Access to New Medicines: Searching for the Balance Between Rising Costs and Limited Budgets

Introduction: There is continued unmet medical need for new medicines across countries especially for cancer, immunological diseases and orphan diseases. However, there are growing challenges with funding new medicines at ever increasing prices along with funding increased medicine volumes with the growing prevalence of both infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases across countries. This has resulted in the development of new models to better manage the entry of new medicines, new financial models being postulated as well as strategies to improve prescribing efficiency. However, more needs to be done. Consequently, the primary aim of this paper is to consider potential ways to optimise the use of new medicines balancing rising costs with increasing budgetary pressures to stimulate debate especially from a payer perspective. Methods: A narrative review of pharmaceutical policies and implications, as well as possible developments, based on key publications and initiatives known to the co-authors principally from a health authority perspective. Results: A number of initiatives and approaches have been identified including new models to better manage the entry of new medicines based on three pillars (pre-, peri-, and post-launch activities). Within this, we see the growing role of horizon scanning activities starting up to 36 months before launch, managed entry agreements and post launch follow-up. It is also likely there will be greater scrutiny over the effectiveness and value of new cancer medicines given ever increasing prices. This could include establishing minimum effectiveness targets for premium pricing along with re-evaluating prices as more medicines for cancer lose their patent. There will also be a greater involvement of patients especially with orphan diseases. New initiatives could include a greater role of multicriteria decision analysis, as well as looking at the potential for de-linking research and development from commercial activities to enhance affordability. Conclusion: There are a number of ongoing activities across countries to try and fund new valued medicines whilst attaining or maintaining universal healthcare. Such activities will grow with increasing resource pressures and continued unmet need

Psychoanalysis, Sexuality, and Nationality in Late Habsburg Austria

How does one grasp, historically and conceptually, the relatively recent phenomenon that gay identity politics is systematically mobilized to support racism and imperialism, a phenomenon theorized as "homonationalism" (Puar) and "gay imperialism" (Haritaworn, Erdem &amp; Tauqir)? This dissertation examines psychoanalysis, sexuality, and nationality in late Habsburg Austria in the light of recent analyses of homonationalism and gay imperialism in order to contribute to a better understanding of the long intertwined histories of sexuality, individual selfhood, and racial modernity.Sigmund Freud's theories of sexuality and gender--especially the theories of castration, sexual difference, and Oedipus--form the core of a psychoanalytic understanding of the self. Despite, and in some cases precisely through, their alleged universal character, these theories participate in a battle over the meanings of Czech, European, German, Jewish, and Christian identities brought on by drastic changes in the social and political organization of late Habsburg Austria: industrialization, mass migrations, competing nationalisms, and the rise of the antisemitic movement.In four chapters, titled "Coming Out, Castration, and the Biopolitics of Parental Narcissism," "Sexuality, Antiquity, and the Embodiment of European Culture," "Ritual Murder and Sexuality in the Hilsner Affair," and "Suggestion and Certainty: Two Approaches to a Critique of Antisemitic Knowledge," I read Freud's theories of sexuality and gender together with documents of contemporary social, political, and cultural events: the state's establishment of a social welfare program in 1917; the Badeni affair of 1897 and the politics of Czech and German language rights; the production of King Oedipus at the Viennese Burgtheater in 1886; the Hilsner affair of 1899/1900 and the antisemitic ritual murder discourse. Psychoanalysis, Sexuality, and Nationality in Late Habsburg Austria suggests that psychoanalytic accounts of gender and sexuality normalize and justify racialized notions of individuality

In situ monitoring metal-ligand exchange processes by optical spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis: a review

Knowledge about the mechanisms involved in the structural development of solid materials at the atomic level is essential for designing rational synthesis protocols for these compounds, which may be used to improve desired technical properties, such as light emission, conductivity, magnetism, porosity or particle size, and may allow the tailored design of solid materials to generate the aforementioned properties. Recent technological advancements have allowed the combination of synchrotron-based in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) with in situ optical spectroscopy techniques, providing researchers with remarkable opportunities to directly investigate structural changes during synthesis reactions. Among the various available methods to measure optical properties, in situ luminescence, UV/Vis absorption, and light transmission spectroscopies are highlighted here, with in situ luminescence being subdivided into in situ luminescence analysis of coordination sensors (ILACS) and time-resolved laser fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). This article consists of a review of 122 references exploring various aspects of in situ analyses, with particular emphasis on the use of XRD-combined techniques in the study of metal-ligand exchange processes during the formation, phase transitions and decomposition of solid materials, including complexes, coordination polymers, metal-organic frameworks, nanoparticles and polyoxo- or chalcogenide metallates. We will then conclude with an exploration of future trends in this exciting research field

Tailored Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Systems by Variation of Polyelectrolyte Composition and EDC/NHS Cross-Linking: Controlled Drug Release vs. Drug Reservoir Capabilities and Cellular Response for Improved Osseointegration

Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) are versatile tools used to investigate fundamental interactions between material-related parameters and the resulting performance in stem cell differentiation, respectively, in bone tissue engineering. In the present study, we investigate the suitability of PEMs with a varying collagen content for use as drug carriers for the human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2). We use three different PEM systems consisting either of the positively charged poly-L-lysine or the glycoprotein collagen type I and the negatively charged glycosaminoglycan heparin. For a specific modification of the loading capacity and the release kinetics, the PEMs were stepwise cross-linked before loading with cytokine. We demonstrate the possibility of immobilizing significant amounts of rhBMP-2 in all multilayer systems and to specifically tune its release via cross-linking. Furthermore, we prove that the drug release of rhBMP-2 plays only a minor role in the differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells. We find a significantly higher influence of the immobilized rhBMP-2 within the collagen-rich coatings that obviously represent an excellent mimicry of the native extracellular matrix. The cytokine immobilized in its bioactive form was able to achieve an increase in orders of magnitude both in the early stages of differentiation and in late calcification compared to the unloaded layers

Tailored Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Systems by Variation of Polyelectrolyte Composition and EDC/NHS Cross-Linking: Physicochemical Characterization and In Vitro Evaluation

The layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly technique is an effective method to immobilize components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) such as collagen and heparin onto, e.g., implant surfaces/medical devices with the aim of forming polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs). Increasing evidence even suggests that cross-linking influences the physicochemical character of PEM films since mechanical cues inherent to the substrate may be as important as its chemical nature to influence the cellular behavior. In this study, for the first-time different collagen/heparin films have been prepared and cross-linked with EDC/NHS chemistry. Quartz crystal microbalance, zeta potential analyzer, diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and ellipsometry were used to characterize film growth, stiffness, and topography of different film systems. The analysis of all data proves a nearly linear film growth for all PEM systems, the efficacy of cross-linking and the corresponding changes in the film rigidity after cross-linking and an appropriate surface topography. Furthermore, preliminary cell culture experiments illustrated those cellular processes correlate roughly with the quantity of newly created covalent amide bonds. This allows a precise adjustment of the physicochemical properties of the selected film architecture regarding the desired application and target cells. It could be shown that collagen improves the biocompatibility of heparin containing PEMs and due to their ECM-analogue nature both molecules are ideal candidates intended to be used for any biomedical application with a certain preference to improve the performance of bone implants or bone augmentation strategies