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Not Tough Enough? Gender Stereotypes and Vote Choice in Switzerland
Get PDFWhile many studies examine the effect of gender stereotypes on electoral chances of women candidates in the U.S. little research investigates this relationship outside two-party systems and experimental designs. This article examines the relationship between gender stereotypes and vote choice for women candidates in the Swiss federal election of 2019. Our regression analyses show that voters holding male issue stereotypes are less likely to elect women candidates, while voters holding female issue stereotypes are more likely to elect women candidates. Interaction effects suggest differing effects depending on a respondent’s age, political knowledge, and the candidate’s party position
Sample handling concept for in-situ lunar regolith analysis by laser-based mass spectrometry
No full textWe present the current progress in developing a reflectron-type time-of-flight laser ablation ionization mass spectrometer (RTOF-LIMS) to allow for direct sensitive microanalysis of lunar regolith grains in situ on the lunar surface. The LIMS system will operate in the lunar south pole region on a CLPS mission within NASA’s Artemis program.The concept for the regolith sample handling system, which is based on a carousel disk system with a cavity to hold the sample material, will be discussed in detail. Rotating the disk takes care of transporting the sample material from the sample inlet, into which a sample delivery system of the CLPS platform deposits the regolith, to the analysis position below the mass analyzer entrance and, subsequently, disposing the material after analysis is completed. Sample preparation is achieved by passive brushes and a shaping tool to create a sample surface with the necessary planarity. Accurate control of these parameters is important to ensure consistent laser ablation conditions during sample analysis and thus reproducible chemical composition determination of the sample material. The new sample handling system design has an improved acceptance range for larger regolith grain sizes up to ~ 1 mm Ø. This in turn reduces a possible sampling bias and should lead to a more representative analysis of the regolith’s chemical composition. Sample disposal is realized by another set of brushes to clean out the cavity and to allow for new sample material to be deposited.To verify the feasibility of the sample handling concept and guiding the development thereof, laboratory experiments on a lunar regolith simulant were conducted using a prototype LIMS system. This prototype system has capabilities representative of the flight instrument currently in development regarding the mass analyzer and optical sub-system. The laboratory and flight optical sub-system is based on a microchip Nd:YAG laser system (~ 1.5 ns pulse width, λ = 532 nm, 100 Hz laser pulse repetition rate, laser irradiance ~ 1 GW/cm 2 ), and custom-made laser optics to achieve a focal spot on the sample surface of ~ 20 μm. Consequently, the conducted measurements can serve as a qualification baseline for the flight instrument during ground-based tests
The distribution of robotic surgery in general and visceral surgery departments in Switzerland - a nationwide inquiry.
Get PDFOBJECTIVES
Since its introduction as a clinical technique, robotic surgery has been extended to different fields of surgery. However, the indications as well as the number of robotic procedures varied in different institutions. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the current use of robotic surgery in general and digestive surgery in Switzerland.
METHODS
All Swiss surgical departments that are recognized training institutes for postgraduate training in surgery by the Swiss Institute of Medical Education (SIWF) were queried with a detailed questionnaire regarding the use of robotic surgery techniques and were analyzed regarding hospital size and type of hospital.
RESULTS
Ninety-three departments were queried, and 67 % (n=63) answered the survey. Fifty-eight were public, and five were private institutions. Seventeen (26 %) of the queried departments used robotic surgery in digestive surgery. Four out of 17 (23 %) of the departments that performed robotic surgery were private hospitals, while 13 (77 %) were public institutions. In the majority of departments, robotic surgery of the rectum (n=12; 70.6 %) and colon (n=11; 64.7 %) was performed, followed by hernia procedures (n=8; 47.1 %) and fundoplication (n=7; 41.2 %). Less frequently, pancreatic resections (n=5; 29.4 %), cholecystectomy (n=4; 23.5 %), adrenalectomy (n=4; 23.5 %), gastric bypass (n=3; 17.7 %), gastric sleeve (n=3; 17.7 %), hepatic procedures (n=2; 11.7 %), or small bowel resections (n=1; 5.9 %) were performed as robotic procedures. More than 25 procedures per year per department were performed for hernia surgery (n=5 departments), gastric bypass (n=2 departments), cholecystectomy, fundoplication, and colon surgery (each n=1 department).
CONCLUSIONS
The number and range of robotic procedures performed in Switzerland varied widely. Higher accreditation for general surgery or subspecialization of visceral surgery of the department was positively associated with the use of robotic techniques, reflecting an unequal availability of robotic surgery
Claiming and Commoning Care in the City. Solidarity Practices in/through the Feminist Strike Movement in Zurich and Bern
No full textParticularly since the pandemic, it has become evident that nation-states and markets have failed to create care infrastructures that guarantee good care and offer decent working conditions. This structural carelessness, manifested above all at local level, has been increasingly addressed by feminist strike movements in recent years. In Switzerland, around 300’000 women took to the streets on 14 June 2023. However, the feminist strike movement is by no means limited to this event but can rather be understood as an ongoing process (Gago 2018) with different forms, scales and sites of politicization of care.
Based on activist ethnographic fieldwork within the feminist strike movement in Bern and Zurich, I explore how childcare workers, networks of mothers and neighborhood collectives challenge the ongoing crisis of social reproduction by both claiming the expansion of public childcare infrastructures and by creating self-organized, collective structures and spaces of childcare within the city.
Solidarity between paid and un(der)paid care workers for the expansion of public care infrastructures and self-organized care commoning in the neighborhood are both elements of a multiplied process of feminist striking. At the micropolitical level, these initiatives can be seen as practical interventions answering to immediate needs in the context of an ongoing care crisis, but also as experimentations with collectively and self-organized forms of care, based in affirmations of interdependency (Tronto 2013) and intensified proximity (Roth/Russell/Thompson 2023). On a broader societal level, these solidarity initiatives not only question the hegemonic division between the public and the private spheres, but also the neoliberal “care fix” strategy which attempts to bridge the care crisis by “offloading the cost of care” to less privileged sectors of society (Dowling 2021)
Endovascular Thrombectomy Versus Intravenous Thrombolysis of Posterior Cerebral Artery Occlusion Stroke.
Get PDFBACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Posterior cerebral artery occlusion (PCAo) can cause long-term disability, yet randomized controlled trials to guide optimal reperfusion strategy are lacking. We compared the outcomes of PCAo patients treated with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) with or without intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) to patients treated with IVT alone.
METHODS
From the multicenter retrospective Posterior cerebraL ArTery Occlusion (PLATO) registry, we included patients with isolated PCAo treated with reperfusion therapy within 24 hours of onset between January 2015 and August 2022. The primary outcome was the distribution of the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 3 months. Other outcomes comprised 3-month excellent (mRS 0-1) and independent outcome (mRS 0-2), early neurological improvement (ENI), mortality, and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH). The treatments were compared using inverse probability weighted regression adjustment.
RESULTS
Among 724 patients, 400 received EVT+/-IVT and 324 IVT alone (median age 74 years, 57.7% men). The median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score on admission was 7, and the occluded segment was P1 (43.9%), P2 (48.3%), P3-P4 (6.1%), bilateral (1.0%), or fetal posterior cerebral artery (0.7%). Compared to IVT alone, EVT+/-IVT was not associated with improved functional outcome (adjusted common odds ratio [OR] 1.07, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.79-1.43). EVT increased the odds for ENI (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.49, 95% CI 1.05-2.12), sICH (aOR 2.87, 95% CI 1.23-6.72), and mortality (aOR 1.77, 95% CI 1.07-2.95).
CONCLUSION
Despite higher odds for early improvement, EVT+/-IVT did not affect functional outcome compared to IVT alone after PCAo. This may be driven by the increased risk of sICH and mortality after EVT
Neurovascular Adverse Effects of Sars-Cov-2 Vaccination.
Get PDFThe global deployment of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines has been pivotal in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing morbidity and mortality associated with the virus. While most of these vaccines have demonstrated high efficacy and overall safety, emerging reports have highlighted potential neurovascular adverse effects, albeit uncommon, associated with these vaccinations. This review aims to assess and summarize the current knowledge on the neurovascular complications arising post-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. We conducted an extensive literature review, focusing on clinical studies and case reports to identify reported neurovascular events, such as ischemic stroke, cerebral sinus venous thrombosis, intracerebral hemorrhage, pituitary apoplexy and primary CNS angiitis Despite the relative rarity of these events, their impact on affected individuals underscores the importance of ongoing surveillance, early detection, and management strategies. We aim to provide healthcare professionals with the latest evidence on neurovascular adverse effects, facilitating informed decision-making in the context of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination programs. Furthermore, we highlight areas requiring further research to understand the pathophysiology of these adverse events better and to develop targeted prevention and treatment strategies
Microbial competition for phosphorus limits the CO2 response of a mature forest.
Get PDFThe capacity for terrestrial ecosystems to sequester additional carbon (C) with rising CO2 concentrations depends on soil nutrient availability1,2. Previous evidence suggested that mature forests growing on phosphorus (P)-deprived soils had limited capacity to sequester extra biomass under elevated CO2 (refs. 3-6), but uncertainty about ecosystem P cycling and its CO2 response represents a crucial bottleneck for mechanistic prediction of the land C sink under climate change7. Here, by compiling the first comprehensive P budget for a P-limited mature forest exposed to elevated CO2, we show a high likelihood that P captured by soil microorganisms constrains ecosystem P recycling and availability for plant uptake. Trees used P efficiently, but microbial pre-emption of mineralized soil P seemed to limit the capacity of trees for increased P uptake and assimilation under elevated CO2 and, therefore, their capacity to sequester extra C. Plant strategies to stimulate microbial P cycling and plant P uptake, such as increasing rhizosphere C release to soil, will probably be necessary for P-limited forests to increase C capture into new biomass. Our results identify the key mechanisms by which P availability limits CO2 fertilization of tree growth and will guide the development of Earth system models to predict future long-term C storage
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