58491 research outputs found
Sort by
How a study on lived experiences impacted German occupation children – A mixed-method long-term approach
No full textObjective: Research on the impact study participation has on participants
has shown that, even though they may find it stressful during participation,
overall, they appear to benefit personally and emerge with a positive
cost-benefit-balance. In 2013, the first psychological study on German
occupation children (GOC), a potentially vulnerable and hidden study
population, was conducted, after which respondents shared a high volume of
positive feedback. In the context of a follow-up survey, the impact of study
participation on participants was investigated to determine the causes of this
distinctly positive outcome.
Methods: Mixed-methods approach using the standardized Reactions to
Research Participation Questionnaire (RRPQ) as well as open-ended questions
on expectations toward participation, and changes due to participation in
dealing with GOC background and in personal life. Analyses included N = 65
participants (mean age 68.92, 40% men) and were carried out with descriptive
measures for RRPQ and inductive content analysis for open-ended questions.
Results: Participants specified six motives for participation besides answering
the standardized form; 46.2% (n = 30) saw their expectations met.
Although participation was related to negative emotions during participation,
participants’ overall experience was positive; 89.2% (n = 58) stated an
inclination to participate again. 52.3% (n = 34) reported participation had
helped develop new ways of dealing with their GOC experiences; five
contributing factors were observed. Changes in private life were reported
by 24.6% (n = 16); three aspects were identified. The vast majority (81.5%;
n = 53) stated, following participation, they were able to disclose their
GOC background to others. Participants placed emphasis on four aspects of
this experience.
Conclusion: Although study participation was described as emotionally
challenging during participation, participants felt that the overall impact it had
on them was positive. The study was the first of its kind and thus presented
an opportunity for a previously hidden population to step out of the dark,
simultaneously gaining insight that helped them better understand themselves
as GOC, and thereby increase their capacity for self-acceptance. Participants
Frontiers in Political Science 01 frontiersin.org
Kaiser and Glaesmer 10.3389/fpos.2022.853562
also benefitted from learning about the study’s findings and connecting with
other GOC through activities that ensued. In conclusion, results suggest that
vulnerable and/or hidden populations benefit from specific attention to their
lived experiences even at higher ag
How Do Young and Old Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats Respond to Antihypertensive Therapy? Comparative Studies on the Effects of Combined Captopril and Nifedipine Treatment
No full textNumerous studies on the effects of antihypertensive treatment in young spontaneously
hypertensive rats (SHRs) have shown that early-onset therapy may effectively reduce their blood
pressure (BP) even to normotensive values. In contrast, only a few studies investigated the effects of
treatment started at an advanced age. These studies revealed that antihypertensive effects are lower
in adult or even in senescent SHRs compared with young SHRs. Even more, prevention of cardiac
sequelae of hypertension such as hypertrophy and fibrosis is less effective when treatment starts
late in life. Because, in patients, combination therapies with calcium antagonists are favored, we
studied the efficacy of a combination therapy with captopril and nifedipine in young and old SHRs.
We directly compared the treatment effects on BP as well as on cardiac hypertrophy and remodeling
between these two animal cohorts. With antihypertensive treatment, significantly lower BP values
were achieved in young SHRs despite a shorter treatment period compared with old SHRs. Although
treatment effects on cardiac hypertrophy were greater in old than in young SHRs, cardiac fibrosis
was significantly attenuated only in young but not in old SHRs. The results emphasize the value of
antihypertensive therapy and particularly accentuate the importance of an early-onset therapy. With
respect to problems such as late diagnosis and poor therapy adherence, these results may have great
importance for the treatment of human hypertension
Pricing decisions in a two‑period closed‑loop supply chain game under asymmetric information and uncertainty
No full textStrategies to increase sustainability are of growing relevance for supply chains and especially for the management of production processes. In this paper, we build on existing literature in closed-loop supply chain management and consider a two-period game-theoretic model in which product returns are reused in the manufacturing process. In all scenarios, we assume that the return rate of used products is random and not known to the players at the beginning of the planning horizon, thus, they have to deal with uncertainty in period 1. In contrast to existing literature, we will also address the circumstance that the players’ level of information in period 2, after the returns have been realized, can be linked to the collection mode in the supply chain. In Scenario A, the retailer is involved in the collection of the used products and transfers them to the manufacturer, so that symmetric information is available. In Scenario B, on the other hand, the used products reach the manufacturer directly from the customer, so that the manufacturer has an information advantage over the retailer. By comparing these scenarios and a vertically integrated supply chain benchmark case, it becomes clear that, depending on the actual return rate, the presence of private information can be either beneficial or detrimental to the manufacturer. The retailer, on the other hand, can compensate for information disadvantages in most cases over the multi-period planning period due to its position as a Stackelberg leader. Regardless of the amount of a transfer payment offered to it by the manufacturer, it prefers the collection of the goods by the manufacturer itself. These findings contribute to literature on symmetric information, where, for example, a retailer-led collection is preferred (Savaskan et al. Manage Sci 50(2):239–252, 2004) or the decision depends on the amount of the transfer payment (Modak et al. J Clean Prod 171:512–528, 2018). However, we show that cooperation between the players leads to the best results not only economically but also from an ecological point of view
Deep learning on independent spatial EEG activity patterns delineates time windows relevant for response inhibition
No full textInhibitory control processes are an important aspect of executive functions and goal-directed behavior. However, the mostly correlative nature of neurophysiological studies was not able to provide insights which aspects of neural dynamics can best predict whether an individual is confronted with a situation requiring the inhibition of a response. This is particularly the case when considering the complex spatio-temporal nature of neural processes captured by EEG data. In the current study, we ask whether independent spatial activity profiles in the EEG data are useful to predict whether an individual is confronted with a situation requiring response inhibition. We combine independent component analysis (ICA) with explainable artificial intelligence approaches (EEG-based deep learning) using data from a Go/Nogo task (N = 255 participants). We show that there are four dissociable spatial activity profiles important to classify Go and Nogo trials as revealed by deep learning. Of note, for all of these four independent activity profiles, neural activity in the time period between 300 and 550 ms after stimulus presentation was most informative. Source localization analyses further revealed regions in the pre-central gyrus (BA6), the middle frontal gyrus (BA10), the inferior frontal gyrus (BA46), and the insular cortex (BA13) were associated with the isolated spatial activity profiles. The data suggest concomitant processes being reflected in the identified time window. This has implications for the ongoing debate on the functional significance of event-related potential correlates of inhibitory control
The influence of socioeconomic aspects and hospital case volume on survival in colorectal cancer in Saxony, Germany
No full textBackground: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common types of cancer in Western civilization and responsible for a high number of yearly deaths. Long-term outcome is influenced by many factors, potentially including socioeconomic aspects like income, education, and employment. Furthermore, annual surgical case volume plays a major role in achieving good oncological results. In our retrospective study, we evaluated the effect of socioeconomic deprivation and hospital volume on overall survival (OS) in the federal state of Saxony, Germany.
Methods: All patients with CRC who underwent surgery in Saxony, Germany between 2010 and 2020 and were living in Saxony at the time of diagnosis were included in our retrospective analysis. Uni- and multivariate analyses were conducted considering age, sex, tumor localization, UICC tumor stage, surgical approach (open/laparoscopic), number of resected lymph nodes, adjuvant chemotherapy, year of surgery, and hospital case volume. In addition, our model was adjusted for social disparity using the German Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation (GISD).
Results: A total of 24,085 patients were analyzed (15,883 with colon cancer and 8,202 with rectal cancer). Age, sex, UICC tumor stage and tumor localization were distributed as expected for CRC. Median overall survival time was 87.9 months for colon cancer and 110.0 months for rectal cancer. Univariate analysis revealed laparoscopic surgery (colon and rectum P < 0.001), high case volume (rectum: P = 0.002) and low levels of socioeconomic deprivation (colon and rectum P < 0.001) to be significantly associated with better survival. In multivariate analyses, the associations of laparoscopic surgery (colon: HR = 0.76, P < 0.001; rectum: HR = 0.87, P < 0.01), and mid-low to mid-high socioeconomic deprivation (colon: HR = 1.18–1.22, P < 0.001; rectum: HR = 1.18–1.36, P < 0.001–0.01) remained statistically significant. Higher hospital case volume was associated with better survival only in rectal cancer (HR = 0.89; P < 0.01).
Conclusion: In Saxony, Germany, better long-term survival after CRC surgery was associated with low socioeconomic deprivation, laparoscopic surgery and partly with high hospital case volume. Thus, there is a need to reduce social differences in access to high-quality treatment and prevention and increase hospital patient volume
Das leisten unsere Schulfördervereine
No full textWissen Sie eigentlich, was die rund 24.000 (ZiviZ-Sonderauswertung, Stand 2022) Schulfördervereine in Deutschland genau leisten? Liegen bestimmte Aktivitäten im Fokus?
Bisher gibt es nur wenige wissenschaftlich fundierte Daten darüber, welche finanziellen und organisatorischen Leistungen Schulfördervereine erbringen. Sie interessieren sich dafür, wie Schulfördervereine unsere Schulen unterstützen und zur Schulgemeinschaft beitragen? Dann sind Sie hier genau richtig!
Diese Broschüre richtet sich an Politik, Verwaltung, Schulleitungen, Lehrkräfte, Eltern, Schulfördervereine und alle, die sich für die wichtige Rolle von Schulfördervereinen interessieren. Unter der Hauptforschungsfrage „Was leisten Schulfördervereine?”
wurde im Sommer 2024 betreut durch die Universität Leipzig eine Studie durchgeführt, deren Ergebnisse in dieser Broschüre vorgestellt werden. Durch die Kombination aus Online-Umfragen mit Schulfördervereinen und Interviews mit Vertreter:innen der
Landesverbände der Kita- und Schulfördervereine wurden sowohl die
Haupttätigkeiten als auch die größten Herausforderungen für Schulfördervereine erfasst. Als Unterthema wurde auch die Rolle der Landesverbände untersucht. Dieser Abschnitt gibt darüber hinaus einen Überblick zu den Haupttätigkeiten und Herausforderungen der Landesverbände.
Wir möchten Sie dazu einladen, die vorgestellten Erkenntnisse und Beispiele zu nutzen, um die Zusammenarbeit mit Schulfördervereinen an Ihrer Schule, in Ihrer Kommune oder auch überregional zu stärken und weiterzuentwickeln. Lassen Sie uns gemeinsam die wichtige Arbeit dieser Vereine wertschätzen
Naturschutznachrichten / Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU), Regionalverband Leipzig e.V.
No full textDevelopment of yarns from recycled carbon fiber based on friction spinning technology with specific properties for thermoset composites
No full textBecause of a growing demand and usage of carbon fiber, effective methods to re-use waste and recycled carbon fiber recoverable either from process scraps or from end-of-life components are attracting increased attention. The development of different hybrid yarn structures consisting of recycled carbon fiber and thermoplastic fibers (recycled carbon fiber content approx. 50% by weight) for thermoplastic composites have been reported earlier. Yarns with high recycled carbon fiber content (>90% by weight) required for thermoset composites are still not realizable due to high shortening in recycled carbon fiber length (≥70%) during different processing steps of spinning. The reason lies in low shear strength, smooth fiber surface and high brittleness of recycled carbon fiber. Second, a lack of crimp in recycled carbon fiber leads to drafting errors during the drawing and spinning process. In this paper, the spinning limit regarding the core to sheath ratio of noble yarns with a recycled carbon fiber content greater than 90% by weight based on friction spinning technology for thermoset composites is reported. Slivers of recycled carbon fiber solely required for the development of yarns are produced on carding and drawing machines optimized for the gentle processing of recycled carbon fiber. Furthermore, different spinning parameters such as spinning drum speed and suction air pressure are investigated and their effect on tensile properties of yarn is analyzed. The results show that yarns with high recycled carbon fiber content (>90% by weight) can be produced with reproducible quality on the DREF-3000 friction spinning machine
Crack Monitoring on Concrete Structures using Robust Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors
No full textThe possibility to measure strains continuously using distributed fiber optic sensors (DFOS) offers enormous potential for structural health monitoring. Cracks can be automatically detected, localized and crack widths calculated. To address the relevant questions of choosing the right DFOS and appropriate application technique for monitoring existing structures, two 4 m long reinforced concrete beams were loaded under service loads in a 4-point bending test. The DFOS were either bonded directly to the smooth concrete surface or along a groove. For comparison, another DFOS was integrated into the specimen. It is demonstrated that with the used adhesive, a good strain transfer from the specimen to the DFOS can be ensured even with subsequent installation. In order to detect all cracks with high reliability, robust DFOS with a monolithic cross section should be preferred for the practical use. The accuracy of crack width measurement was verified through Reference measurement via digital image correlation. For the monolithic DFOS, all measurement deviations were within the tolerance range of ±0.05 mm. With layered sensing cables, significant misinterpretations occurred due to strongly damped strain curves
BOUNCE: memory-efficient SIMD approach for lightweight integer compression
No full textInteger compression plays an important role in columnar database systems to reduce the main memory footprint as well as to speedup query processing. To keep the additional computational effort of (de)compression as low as possible, the powerful Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) extensions of modern CPUs are heavily applied. While a scalar compression algorithm usually compresses a block of N consecutive integers, the state-of-the-art SIMDified implementation scales the block size to k · N with k as the number of elements which could be simultaneously processed in an SIMD register. On the one hand, this scaling SIMD approach improves the performance of (de)compression. But on the other hand, it can lead to a degradation of the memory footprint of the compressed data. Within this article, we analyze this degradation effect for various integer compression algorithms and present a novel SIMD concept to overcome that effect. The core idea of our novel SIMD concept called BOUNCE is to concurrently compress k different blocks of size N within SIMD registers, guaranteeing the same compression ratio as scalar variant. As we are going to show, our proposed SIMD idea works well on various Intel CPUs and may offer a new generalized SIMD concept to optimize further algorithms