Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging Associated Diseases
Kölner UniversitätsPublikationsServerNot a member yet
25460 research outputs found
Sort by
What challenges of family-clinician conversations in the intensive care unit can teach us: A cross-sectional survey study
No full text[Artikel-Nr. 104011] Objectives: To explore the perspectives of intensive care unit personnel and patients’ family members on chal- lenges of family-clinician conversations and corresponding learning needs. Research Methodology/Design: Cross-sectional survey study. Setting: Two medical intensive care units of a German academic tertiary care hospital. Main Outcome Measures: Data were collected using an investigator-designed online survey with open- and closed- ended questions. Descriptive statistics were conducted to determine frequencies, free-text responses were ana- lysed using directed qualitative content analysis. Findings: The responses of 94 family members, 42 nurses, and 28 physicians were analysed (response rate: 45%). Regarding the clinicians’ perspective, three main themes of challenges were deduced: ICU setting, Staff-related challenges, and Family-related challenges. Conversely, the majority of participating family members reported challenges both cognitive and affective in nature, e.g., remembering provided information or discussing the patient’s prognosis. Most clinicians stated their need for a corresponding communication skills training to suc- cessfully navigate those challenges in clinical practice, particularly regarding conveying complex information, handling strong emotions, and managing family-clinician conflicts. Conclusion: The identified communication challenges underline the issues of family-clinician conversations that require improvement, making it possible to determine corresponding strategies to attain the desired outcome. Further research is needed to elicit best-practices of communication skills trainings for family-clinician con- versations and its implementation in critical care settings. Implications for clinical practice: These findings invite clinicians to engage in self-reflection to identify individually perceived communication challenges and learning needs. Faculty and healthcare institutions may further use these findings to conceptualise tailored communication skills trainings to contribute to the advancement in nursing and medical education
Correction to “Endoscopic Versus Medical Management of Peptic Ulcers With Adherent Clots: Overcoming Hesitation Through Education”
No full textSludge retention time in anaerobic digestion affects Archaea by a cascade through microeukaryotes
No full text[Artikel-Nr. 123371] Anaerobic digestion is a crucial process for treating organic waste, such as wastewater sludge, agricultural residues and food waste. While the influence of physicochemical parameters on the prokaryotic community composition in anaerobic digesters has been extensively characterized, the role of biotic interactions in shaping the prokaryotic communities remains poorly understood. This study addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing the complete active microbiome of nine full-scale anaerobic digesters. Our findings reveal that eukaryotes, consisting primarily of protists and fungi, account for approximately 40 % of RNA sequence reads alongside dominant Archaea, indicating their substantial role in the digestion process. Our results suggest that the chosen sludge retention time during anaerobic digestion indirectly affects the archaeal community composition and thus treatment efficacy by cascading through eukaryotes, highlighting their integral role in the system. This study highlights the critical role of eukaryotes in regulating prokaryotic communities and their indirect contribution to the optimization of anaerobic digestion efficiency
Minen als Konzepte. Künstlerische Positionen gegen extraktivistische Projekte im Anthropozän.
No full textDie Arbeit geht der Frage nach, wie das Anthropozän als politischer Begriff zu fassen ist und welchen Beitrag künstlerische Praktiken zur Erkenntnis und Kritik extraktivistischer Gewalt leisten. Grundlage ist dabei ein politisches Verständnis des Begriffs Anthropozän: nicht geologisch neutral, sondern historisch in Kolonialismus, Rassismus und extraktivistischem Kapitalismus verankert. Methodisch wird Extraktivismus als heuristisches Leitkonzept gefasst, das globale Ungleichheiten sowie Ausbeutungs-, Enteignungs- und Gewaltverhältnisse als Ausdruck eines gemeinsamen extraktiven Organisationsprinzips von Gesellschaft und Ökonomie lesbar macht und als theoretisch-methodischer Bezugsrahmen dient. Die Mine – als konkrete Ausdrucksform dieses Prinzips – wird zugleich als global vernetztes Infrastruktursystem und als lokaler Ort der Ausbeutung analysiert.
Zentral ist dafür die Untersuchung künstlerischer Positionen als epistemische Praktiken, die sich auf je spezifische Weise in den Diskurs zu Anthropozän und Extraktivismus einschreiben und intervenieren. Auf Basis dichter Werk- und Bildanalysen werden Arbeiten in den Blick genommen, die sich vornehmlich mit afrikanischen Bergbaugebieten befassen. Diese Positionen machen die Gewaltförmigkeit des Extraktivismus sichtbar – insbesondere die Kommodifizierung von Territorien, Körpern und Materialien. Im Fokus stehen die Identifikation, Benennung und Typisierung der daraus hervorgehenden Gewaltformen aus der Perspektive der künstlerischen Arbeiten
Dopamine Transporter Imaging as Objective Monitoring Biomarker in Parkinson's Disease
No full textObjective: Although dopamine transporter (DaT) imaging is a valuable diagnostic biomarker, few studies have investigated its utility in objectively monitoring disease progression in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). To date, no study has established a longitudinal relationship between the DaT signal decline and the motor symptom increase, potentially due to neglected factors such as brain regions, disease laterality, and symptom subtypes, which this study addresses. Methods: This cohort study included participants who met the Movement Disorder Society (MDS) criteria for PD, with longitudinal imaging and clinical data from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative Database. Linear mixed model analyses were used to investigate the relationship between the DaT signal decline and the motor symptom severity increase over time. We hypothesized that a decline in putaminal DaT availability in the less affected hemisphere would be associated with increasing contralateral motor symptoms, measured by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Additional models explored the effects of different brain regions (caudate and putamen), symptom categories (MDS UPDRSIII score with and without tremor items), and disease onset laterality (left or right hemisphere). Results: We included 719 participants (443 male patients and 276 female patients; mean age = 62.2 ± 9.5 years) with 1,981 available data points. As hypothesized, we observed a significant association between the decrease in the less affected putaminal DaT signal and motor symptom increase in the contralateral body side, independent of including or excluding tremor scores. Interpretation: Our findings support the use of repetitive DaT imaging for objectively monitoring PD progression. This could facilitate personalized disease tracking, subtyping, and intervention testing in the future. ANN NEUROL 2025;98:120–13
Novel digital measurement system for predicting surgical outcomes in patients with primary non-syndromic craniosynostosis
No full textObjective: With the aim of further optimizing the care of patients with primary non-syndromic craniosynostosis, we describe a novel and clinically feasible measurement method to predict postoperative outcomes and provide an analysis of quality of life. Design: 76 patients with primary non-syndromic craniosynostosis were treated by one surgeon. 47 healthy patients without craniosynostosis formed the control group. All patients had an age between 3 months and 18 years. Based on manual measurement using callipers, x-ray-imaging and 3-D-photographs of the head, various detailed symmetry and aesthetic indices were collected using a novel digital measurement tool that was integrated into a clinically established programme. These are compared with a healthy control group without craniosynostosis. In addition, perioperative data, a clinical visual assessment of the scars and quality of life were evaluated using a standardised questionnaire. Results: Individual values show statistically significant deviations from the control group preoperatively and immediately postoperatively, which are typical for the respective form of craniosynostosis. Overall, there were good results in terms of symmetry, aesthetics and satisfaction. Interestingly, the quality of life of operated patients tended to be rated better overall than in the control group. Conclusion: The detailed measurement technique presented is easy to use and enables an individual, efficient and internationally comparable assessment of the preand postoperative findings of patients with primary non-syndromic craniosynostosis. The additional survey of quality of life provides a valuable contribution to the analysis of affected patients
(Not) Everyone can be a winner - The role of payoff interdependence for redistribution
No full text[Artikel-Nr. 105320] Frequently, one person’s success comes at the expense of others. We contrast such zero-sum environments in which individuals’ payoffs are interdependent to those where payoffs are independent. In a laboratory experiment, we study whether the resulting inequality is perceived differently and how this affects redistribution. Across treatments, we compare a spectator’s redistribution of two workers’ earnings. If workers do not compete in a zero-sum setting, average redistribution decreases. In a representative survey, we replicate this finding and document that individuals who believe in a zero-sum world support higher levels of redistribution and are more likely to consider themselves a member of the Democratic party
Pupils’ Strategies for Using Multilingualism in Geography Lessons: Successful Learning with Multimedia and Multilingual Media Offerings in Geography Lessons
No full text[Artikel-Nr. 216] The study on which the article is based investigates which learning strategies multilingual pupils use when using a multimedia and multilingual media offer in geography lessons and how these influence their subject-related learning success. By way of introduction, the potential of multilingualism for geography lessons is presented theoretically and with reference to neurobiology. A multimedia and multilingual learning platform was developed for the study and trialled in geography lessons. The pupils’ usage strategies were recorded using screen recordings and sound-thinking protocols and mapped in a differentiated way in a model. The most common usage strategies that can be observed include “reversion”, i.e., processing the same information medium first in one language and then again in another, the use of reading strategies, multilingual notetaking, the use of image and map information, bundling information and structured summarising. These utilisation strategies show a positive influence on learning outcomes
Correcting Ski Resort Trajectories Extracted from Video
No full text[Artikel-Nr. 695] Accidents at ski resorts present a significant safety concern, underscoring the urgency of addressing these issues. This study aims to enhance safety protocols by providing resort operators with more effective data analysis methodologies. We present and test methods for analyzing video footage from downhill ski areas where detailed information needed to correct errors, due to perspective, lens distortion, etc., is not available. This can be the case, e.g., for webcam footage and accidental videos (e.g., on YouTube). As much of this kind of video is available and could be used for statistical analysis, methods are needed that allow for at least for an approximate consideration of such aspects. Using video footage obtained from various ski resorts, we developed and tested several methods for analyzing and correcting the trajectories of skiers captured in the videos. Our analysis revealed that using five reference lines, along with the most appropriate x and y coordinate corrections, is an effective approach for achieving precise calibration of the video data. The corrected trajectory data, adjusted for perspective distortions and scaling inaccuracies, provide a detailed basis for analyzing skier behavior and identifying high-risk zones prone to collisions