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Governments around the globe have started to develop and deploy digital contact tracing apps to gain control over the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19). The appropriateness and usefulness of these technologies as a containment measure have since sparked political and academic discussions globally. The present paper contributes to this debate through an exploration of how the national daily newspapers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland reported on the development and adoption of digital contact-tracing apps during early and after stages of the lockdown. These countries were among the first in Europe to develop apps and were critical voices in the debate of decentralized vs. centralized data processing. We conducted thematic analysis on news coverage published between January and May 2020 in high-circulation national daily newspapers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. A total of 148 articles from nine newspaper companies were included in the final analysis. From our analysis emerged six core themes of the development and adoption of digital contact tracing apps: 1) data governance; 2) role of IT giants; 3) scientific rigor; 4) voluntariness; 5) functional efficacy; 6) role of the app. These results shed light on the different facets of discussion regarding digital contact tracing as portrayed in German-speaking media. This study complements emerging survey data on public perceptions of digital contact tracing apps by providing a better understanding of the ideas circulating in the media ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Majority of active tuberculosis (TB) cases in children in low-incidence countries are due to rapid progression of infection (latent TB infection (LTBI)) to disease. We aimed to assess common practice for managing paediatric LTBI in Austria, Germany and Switzerland prior to the publication of the first joint national guideline for paediatric TB in 2017. Methods: Online-based survey amongst pediatricians, practitioners and staff working in the public health sector between July and November 2017. Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS. Results: A total of 191 individuals participated in the survey with 173 questionnaires included for final analysis. Twelve percent of respondents were from Austria, 60% from Germany and 28% from Switzerland. Proportion of children with LTBI and migrant background was estimated by the respondents to be >50% by 58%. Tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-γ-release-assay (IGRA), particularly Quantiferon-gold-test, were reported to be used in 86% and 88%, respectively. In children > 5 years with a positive TST or IGRA a chest x-ray was commonly reported to be performed (28%). Fifty-three percent reported to take a different diagnostic approach in children ≤ 5 years, mainly combining TST, IGRA and chest x-ray for initial testing (31%). Sixty-eight percent reported to prescribe isoniazid-monotherapy: for 9 (62%), or 6 months (6%), 31% reported to prescribe combination therapy of isoniazid and rifampicin. Dosing of isoniazid and rifampicin below current recommendations was reported by up to 22% of respondents. Blood-sampling before/during LTBI treatment was reported in >90% of respondents, performing a chest-X-ray at the end of treatment by 51%. Conclusion: This survey showed reported heterogeneity in the management of paediatric LTBI. Thus, regular and easily accessible educational activities and national up-to-date guidelines are key to ensure awareness and quality of care for children and adolescents with LTBI in low-incidence countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article 8 of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities requires governments around the globe to raise awareness on issues of disability in their societies, combatting stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices. Little comparative data is available on lay people's social representations of intellectual disability and associated stigma, which could inform actions in line with the convention. The present study compared intellectual disability literacy and stigma among adults in the general population in the UK, Austria and Germany (N = 1046), and examined the effects of providing an intellectual disability label on these outcomes. Although participants came from highly developed European countries and prior contact with people with intellectual disabilities was common, the findings pointed to some striking differences between countries. Participants in Austria and Germany were much less likely than those in the UK to identify symptoms of a possible intellectual disability in an unlabelled vignette. They were also much more hostile towards social contact, a difference that was maintained when participants were informed of the intellectual disability label. Labelling showed controversial effects on stigma, both in its effects on social distance and on beliefs about suitable causes and interventions. Overall, the social acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities appears to be much less advanced in Austria and Germany than in the UK, and awareness of intellectual disability much lower, indicating a need for action at societal level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has already changed our globalised world and its long-term impact is not yet known. It is apparent that businesses and institutions are increasingly affected. COVID-19 discussions often focus on intensive care units in hospitals. However, COVID-19 also effects life-saving and -prolonging radiotherapy for patients suffering from cancer. Method: We have conducted a structured online survey among medical physicists in Germany, Austria and Switzerland from March 23rd to 26th 2020. In total 154 responses (82 completed, 72 partially completed) were analysed in the context of the COVID-19 dissemination. Results: 72.4% of the respondent's state that their processes are affected due to COVID-19, while the top three answers are longer processing times (54.2%), patient no-shows (42.5%) and staff reduction (36.7%). 75.8% expect further unavailability of their personnel in the upcoming weeks. All participants have already taken several measures, especially providing information for patients at the entrance (89.6%) or over the phone (73.6%), restricting access for accompanying persons (77.4%) and providing disinfectant at the entrance (72.6%). Discussion: The results presented in this article aim to support business continuity and risk management for radiotherapy centres to prepare for future challenges. The results show that most radiotherapy centres has implemented initial contingency measures, applying them pragmatically. The main problem however remains, that is the high risk of infection both for patients and medical personnel along with the associated risk of temporarily loss of personnel and ordered closure of business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To investigate changes in diabetes treatment over the last two decades in three age-groups of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) from Germany and Austria. Methods: 63,967 subjects (<18yr) with T1D documented between 1995 and 2014 from the DPV-database were included and stratified according to age (0.5-<6, 6-<12, 12-<18yr). Regression models were applied for insulin regimens (<3 and ≥4 injection time points/day, or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII)), use of rapid- and long acting insulin analogues, NPH insulin, and frequency of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG)/day. Models were adjusted for sex, diabetes duration, and migration background. P-value for trend was given. Findings: The number of subjects with <3 injection time points/day decreased from 1995 to 2014 to <5% in all age-groups (p<0.0001). Proportion of patients with ≥4 injections/day increased until the early 2000s, and then declined until 2014. This trend was not found in 6-<12yr olds (p = 0.3403). CSII increased in all age-groups (p<0.0001) with the highest increase in children <6 years (from 0.4% to 79.2%), and the lowest increase in 12-<18 year olds (from 1.0% to 38.9%). NPH insulin decreased in all age-groups (p<0.0001). Insulin analogues, especially rapid-acting, became more frequent in all age-groups (p<0.0001), accounting for 78.4% in 2014 for all subjects. The highest use was found in the youngest children (in 2014: 85.6%), the lowest use in 6-<12 year olds (in 2014: 72.9%). The number of SMBG/day increased from 2.2 to 6.4 with a similar rise in all age-groups (p<0.0001). Frequency was highest in subjects <6yr. Conclusions: In all age-groups, T1D treatment was intensified over the last 20 years. Age-specific differences in trends were particularly observed in the number of patients on CSII, in the number of patients with 4 or more injections/day, and in the frequency of SMBG/day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of β-lactamase producing or fluoroquinolone-resistant members of the family Enterobacteriaceae in European mouflons (Ovis orientalis musimon). The mouflon samples originated from nasal and perineal swabs and/or organ samples in cases of a suspected infection. Only one of the 32 mouflons was tested positive for the presence of Enterobacteriaceae that displayed either an ESBL/AmpC phenotype or were resistant to ciprofloxacin. The positively tested swab originated from a sample of the jejunal mucosa of a four-year old female mouflon. Two different colony morphotypes were identified as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. These isolates were phenotypically and genotypically characterized in detail by a polyphasic approach. Both isolates were multi-drug resistant. The E. coli isolate belonged to the phylogenetic group B1 and sequence type (ST) 744 and harboured the β-lactamase genes blaCTX-M-15 and blaOXA-1. The K. pneumoniae, identified as ST11, harboured the β-lactamase genes blaSHV-11, blaOXA-1, and blaDHA-1 as well as the plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) gene qnrB55. The present study demonstrates that wild animals can acquire human-derived resistance determinants and such findings may indicate environmental pollution with resistance determinants from other sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the paper is to diagnose organisational culture of selected universities and analyse its impact on the innovation processes within them. The subject matter of the study was organisational culture and innovation at universities. The subjects were four selected universities in Poland, Austria, Germany, and Ukraine. The paper provided a definition of organisational culture and its typology. It further discussed the organisational culture of universities and the relationships between organisational culture and innovativeness. The literature review provided foundations for building a model for the formation of a type of organisational culture at universities that is innovation-friendly, which is the added value of the paper. It offers actions worth taking to shape innovation-friendly culture at universities. It is particularly important during difficult time of changing labour market, when universities greatly impact the attitudes of young people. The knowledge of how to shape innovation-friendly organisational culture at universities is necessary for academia to profile future employees in times of continuous changes. To investigate the relationship between organisational culture and the innovativeness of universities, we designed an original survey questionnaire [S1 File]. Organisational culture was diagnosed with the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument by K.S. Cameron and R.E. Quinn. The analyses were conducted in Dell Statistica v. 13.1 (StatSoft Polska). We normalised data from the Likert rating scale using Kaufman's and Rousseeuw's formula. We used Spearman's correlation coefficient and Kendall's W to calculate correlations. The research shows that the investigated Polish and Austrian universities are dominated by hierarchy and market cultures. On the other hand, the German and Ukrainian universities host all cultures, but clan and adhocracy dominate there. Moreover, the analyses demonstrated that although the adhocracy culture was the least visible in the investigated organisations, it contributes to university innovativeness the most. The conclusions were used to build a model for promoting innovation-friendly organisational culture at universities. The model contains answers to the research questions. In addition, it offers guidelines for shaping organisational culture to bolster innovation at universities. The research identified relationships between organisational culture and university innovativeness and components that create innovation opportunities at universities as its contribution to management theory. When applied in practice, the guidelines can help form the university's organisational culture bottom-up., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.