401 research outputs found
Chaoticity of the wet granular gas
No full textIn this work we derive an analytic expression for the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy of dilute wet granular
matter, valid for any spatial dimension. The grains are modeled as hard spheres and the influence of the wetting
liquid is described according to the capillary model, in which dissipation is due to the hysteretic cohesion force
of capillary bridges. The Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy is expanded in a series with respect to density. We find a
rapid increase of the leading term when liquid is added. This demonstrates the sensitivity of the granular
dynamics to humidity, and shows that the liquid significantly increases the chaoticity of the granular gas
Immunoblot analysis of the seroreactivity to recombinant Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato antigens, including VlsE, in the long-term course of treated patients with Erythema migrans
No full textObjective: We evaluated whether immunoblotting is capable of substantiating the posttreatment clinical assessment of patients with erythema migrans ( EM), the hallmark of early Lyme borreliosis. Methods: In 50 patients, seroreactivity to different antigens of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato was analyzed by a recombinant immunoblot test (IB) in consecutive serum samples from a minimum follow-up period of 1 year. Antigens in the IgG test were decorin- binding protein A, internal fragment of p41 (p41i), outer surface protein C (OspC), p39, variable major protein-like sequence expressed (VlsE), p58 and p100; those in the IgM test were p41i, OspC and p39. Immune responses were correlated with clinical and treatment-related parameters. Results: Positive IB results were found in 50% before, in 57% directly after therapy and in 44% by the end of the follow-up for the IgG class, and in 36, 43 and 12% for the IgM class. In acute and convalescence phase sera, VlsE was most immunogenic on IgG testing 60 and 70%), and p41i (46 and 57%) and OspC (40 and 57%) for the IgM class. By the end of the follow-up, only the anti-p41i lgM response was significantly decreased to 24%. Conclusions: No correlation was found between IB results and treatment-related parameters. Thus, immunoblotting does not add to the clinical assessment of EM patients after treatment. Copyright (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel
Kolmogorov-Sinai Entropy of the Dilute Wet Granular Gas
No full textWe present an analytical expression for the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy of a wet granular gas. The influence of the liquid is modeled by a hysteretic interaction force. For the dilute limit (two-particle collisions only), we find a simple expression accounting for the contribution of both the scattering states and the bound states in arbitrary dimensions. It is shown that the system is significantly more chaotic than a gas of (dry) hard spheres, as reflected by a pronounced increase of the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy
Mini erythema migrans - A sign of early Lyme borreliosis
No full textBackground: An erythema migrans (EM) remaining smaller than 5 cm in diameter, called mini EM by us, has not been addressed in detail. Objective: To study the significance of the mini EM as a sign of Lyme borreliosis. Methods: Patients with suspected mini EM were retrospectively selected out of 257 consecutive patients with EM. The diagnosis of mini EM rested on the cultivation of Borrelia burgdorferi. Species and subtype analysis of culture isolates was performed using outer surface protein A (OspA) polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequencing of the OspA gene. Results: There was one patient with definite (0.4%) and another patient with a questionable mini EM. Borrelia garinii OspA type 6 was identified in the patient with the definite and B. burgdorferi sensu lato in the patient with the questionable mini EM. Conclusion: The mini EM represents an important and apparently uncommon sign of early Lyme borreliosis
Rational diagnostic strategies for Lyme borreliosis in children and adolescents: recommendations by the Committee for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinations of the German Academy for Pediatrics and Adolescent Health
No full textWhat you get is what you need? The role of venture capitalists in managing growth of new ventures
No full textThe resource-based view is suggested as a useful concept to shed light on the particular challenges of high potential companies on their way to building a thriving and growing company. In order to be able to apply the theoretical constructs of the resource-based view in the present context, a categorization of resources is elaborated that fits particularly well to high potential companies. Existing literature provides evidence that these companies in general only dispose of a small resource base and that they are characterized by strong resource needs in all relevant resource categories. The role of venture capitalists is assumed to provide high potential companies with financial and non-financial resources that help to create core and non-core competencies. Ultimately, this bundle of core and non-core competencies would allow high potential companies to achieve a sustained competitive advantage. The empirical results of this paper are based on insights from three in-depth case studies on German start-ups, each representing a different investor-investee dyad. It comprises investees from different industries such as software, biotech, and energy as well as investors with an established track record, first fund investors, and semi-government-dependent investors. The cases show that venture capitalists provide a number of resources to their portfolio companies that allow building a competitive advantage. The role of the venture capitalists is thus to help high potential companies to complement existing resources and competences in order to develop their full economic potential. However, there is great variation between the resource provisions of the analyzed venture capital firms. --Entrepreneurship,Venture Capital,Resource-based View
Author Correction: Incidence of notified Lyme borreliosis in Germany, 2013–2017
No full textAn amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper
Humane Ehrlichiose und humane Anaplasmose: epidemiologische, klinische und diagnostische Aspekte
No full textEpidemiologische, klinische, diagnostische und therapeutische Aspekte der Lyme-Borreliose
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