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The interpretation and reflection of how teaching and learning can be performed according to rather modern approaches is described. The centre of education at the Technical University is strong and supports newly appointed teachers. It is all about competences which need to be promoted and encouraged. The writing and formulating learning outcomes are the basis of different kinds of knowledge and called taxonomy levels. A learning outcome for the Bachelor module leather, its history, tannage and conservation is presented. Learning activation is enabled by changing lecture styles with the help of videos, original material and daily life memory links. The voting system PINGO can be used as activation form as well as pre-assessment format. The range of assessment styles ranges from oral and written presentation to a novel form of capturing video sequences. The production of minute-videos enable a different view to a process, helps to understand the topic of the lecture und activates the students enormously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue features the selected works of authors who have presented papers at the 2022 iteration of the Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL) in Cologne, Germany. The motto of the conference was "Bridging Worlds" and was run as a fully hybrid event. Ten papers covering all aspects of Digital Libraries, namely Natural Language Processing, Information Retrieval, User Behavior, Scholarly Communication, Classification, Information Extraction are included in this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper covers the glass bowl fragments brought to light at Intercisa (Dunaújváros, Hungary). Bowls occur in relatively high number among the finds from the vicus and the military fort of Intercisa. The open vessels assigned to this category have a rim diameter exceeding the vessel height or exceeding the vessel height by at least 60%. Of the roughly 700 glass fragments known from the site, no more than 72 represent bowls, accounting for about 10% of the vessel glass, a relatively high proportion. Facet-cut bowls are the most frequent type among bowls: 40 pieces can be assigned to this category. Mosaic and ribbed bowls, as well as some cast and mould-pressed bowls are typical of the early Roman period. The vast majority of the bowls are blown vessels and date to the later second and the third centuries, with a few exemplars dating to the fourth century. Two bowl types stand out from among the finds, namely the facet-cut bowls and the scallop bowls of the late Roman period, which, judging from their regional distribution, had probably both been produced in a glass workshop active on the Intercisa settlement. One remarkable fragment from a hemispherical bowl bears a male head with a hedgehog hairstyle; it is paralleled by several vessels not only from the Cologne area, but also from Pannonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes a new look at how the aerodynamic interactions of multiple bodies in high-speed flow affect their motion behaviors. The influence of the body shape and orientation on aerodynamic and stability behavior in the case of shock–shock and wake–shock interactions is the focus of this publication. Experiments were performed in the hypersonic wind tunnel H2K at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne. Free-flight tests with tandem arrangements of spheres and cubes were performed with a synchronized dropping of both objects at various initial conditions of relative streamwise and vertical distance as well as pitch angle. A high-speed stereo-tracking captured the model motions during free-flight, and high-speed schlieren videography provided documentation of the flow topology. Based on the measured 6-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) motion data, aerodynamic coefficients were determined. As a result, the final lateral velocity of trailing cubes is found to be many times greater than that of spheres regarding shock-wave surfing. For rotating cubes, the results showed that stable shock-wave surfing can become possible over an increasingly wide range of initial positions. This study has identified that the trailing drag coefficient of two axially aligned objects varies strongly with their relative streamwise distance. Furthermore, it was shown that the wake is a region of stability for downstream objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the confirmation that several papers involving plant development were compromised by scientific fraud. Published results in the March issue of `Plant Journal'; The investigation of the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, Germany; The falsification of experiments and the publishing of those results in ten different publications; People involved, including research group leader Richard Walden; Results of the investigation; Other information. INSET: Cologne Institute's Disputed Papers.

In this paper, an experimental and numerical investigation of the effect of leading-edge erosion in transonic blades was performed. The measurements were carried out on a linear blade cascade in the Transonic Cascade Wind Tunnel of DLR in Cologne at two operating points with an inflow Mach number of 1.05 and 1.12. The numerical simulations were performed by ANSYS Germany. The type and specifications of the erosion for the study were derived from real engine blades and applied to the leading edges of the experimental cascade blades using a waterjet process, as well as modeled in detail and meshed within the numerical setup. Numerical simulations and extensive wake measurements were carried out on the cascades to evaluate the aerodynamic performance. The increase in losses was quantified to be 4 percent, and a reduction in deflection and a rise in pressure were detected at both operating points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the research conducted by Nicolas von Beckerath and Dirk Taubert to assess factors why the drug clopidogrel for some individuals in Cologne, Germany. They found that polymorphisms in gene encoding of cytochrome P450 enzyme is the cause why some have lower plasma levels and at risk of heart disease. Taubert discovered that cytochrome P450 enzymes are needed in the breakdown of the drug to intermediate metabolite, but esterase transformed it to its active state.

In 1976, Prof. Wildor Hollmann's group published a paper on lactate performance tests in I Sportarzt und Sportmedizin i (Mader I et al i . 1976), 3 years after a key paper by Wasserman I et al i . on the ventilatory anaerobic threshold (Wasserman I et al i . 1973). Keywords: anaerobic threshold; exercise; lactate EN anaerobic threshold exercise lactate 1713 1714 2 03/03/21 20210301 NES 210301 I have enjoyed reading the excellent review on the anaerobic threshold celebrating the abundant work arising from the premise originally put forward by Prof Karlman Wasserman (Poole I et al i . 2021). In summary, to me the Cologne group around Profs Wildor Hollmann, Alois Mader and Hermann Heck has made important contributions to exercise physiology, including the development of modern lactate exercise testing, the conceptualization of lactate-based thresholds and a 1980s mathematical model of human energy metabolism that was far ahead of its time. [Extracted from the article]

In the Author Contributions, Lukas Broichhaus should be listed as the only author who wrote the paper under 'Writing–original draft.By Lukas Broichhaus; Julian Book; Sven Feddern; Barbara Grüne; Florian Neuhann; Johannes Nießen; Gerhard A. Wiesmüller; Annelene Kossow and Christine JoistenReported by Author; Author; Author; Author; Author; Author; Author; Author; Author [Extracted from the article]

The German Society for Information and Knowledge (DGI) invites its members to the regular general meeting on November 8, 2024. At the meeting, a new board will be elected and the annual budget plan will be discussed and approved. DGI is also organizing a theme day where the working groups AKTS and IuG will present their work results and seek exchange with business, science, and administration. Training and further education opportunities on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will also be offered. DGI mourns the loss of long-time member Dr. Robert Fugmann, who passed away at the age of 97. The German Society for Information Science and Information Practice (DGI) offers various services related to legal aspects, knowledge management, and information literacy. In 2023, the focus of the Information Literacy and Education (IKB) working group was on the anniversary symposium of DGI. Discussions on topics such as fake news and information literacy took place. DGI also plans to update a position paper on the topic of Artificial Intelligence and Education. Events to promote information literacy were held, and collaboration with other organizations was maintained. The FaMI conference in 2024 will be hosted by the Joseph-DuMont Vocational College in Cologne. Approximately 30 vocational school teachers for media and information services met for professional exchange and further education. The program included topics such as project work and podcast production. Excursions to various institutions provided insights into the practice and possible work environments of the apprentices. It was emphasized that the field of information and documentation services needs to be strengthened nationwide. [Extracted from the article]

The workshop program of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence's International Conference on Web and Social Media (AAAI-16) was held in Cologne, Germany. There were eight workshops in the program: CityLab, Challenges and Futures for Ethical Social Media Research, Social Media and Demographic Research, Wiki, #Fail: Things That Didn't Work Out in Social Media Research -- And What We Can Learn from Them, News and Public Opinion, Social Media in the Newsroom, and Social Web for Environmental and Ecological Monitoring. Workshops were held on the first day of the conference, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Workshop participants met and discussed issues with a selected focus -- providing an informal setting for active exchange among researchers, developers, and users on topics of current interest. Of the eight workshops held at the conference; organizers from only five included papers in the AAAI Technical Reports series, and organizers from six workshops submitted reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the year of 2015, about 800.000 refugees arrived in Germany, a number which equals around one percent of the total population. This migration process was labelled the refugee crisis and was accompanied by a contested debate. On the one hand, there was a widespread willingness to voluntarily help arriving refugees, on the other hand, the number of xenophobic attacks against refugees drastically increased. Our paper will focus on a specific form of xenophobic violence with a strong symbolic meaning: We analyze how arson attacks against collective accommodation facilities spread. Using a comprehensive web chronicle, we collected temporal and spatial data about arson attacks perpetrated on accommodations or facilities for refugees in Germany between 2015 and 2017. We counted 251 attacks, assigned each incident location to its county, merged county characteristics such as population size, proportion of foreigners, right-wing party support, and—going beyond previous research—added geographically coded media data from two digital archives. Besides newspaper contents of a popular nation-wide tabloid, we use a data base that covers local fake news on refugees. Based on these data, we constructed a balanced panel data set with the counties as geographical units and periods of 14 days as the time dimension. Results indicate that social contagion drives the diffusion process of arson attacks. Spatial proximity of previous attacks increased the propensity of attacks in the neighboring counties. Attacks were more likely to occur in counties with larger populations and fewer foreigners. While local newspaper coverage did not impact the diffusion of xenophobic attacks, fake news were relevant–but only in East Germany. We also considered two particularly salient threatening events that received nation-wide media attention, namely Merkel's "border opening" on the 5th of September 2015 and the sexual assaults occurring during New Year's 2015/16 in Cologne. Both were followed by temporary increases in violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the very beginning of his studies in Northeastern Africa, Professor Michał Kobusiewicz concentrated on the prehistory of this region. His interests went beyond the Palaeolithic to encompass later periods during which the foundations were laid for the unified Egyptian state. This is well evidenced by his paper on "Neolithic and Predynastic Development in the Egyptian Nile Valley", presented at a meeting of the members of the International Commission of the Later Prehistory of Northeastern Africa in Cologne and published in 2002 (Kobusiewicz 2002). Professor Kobusiewicz delivered both a very detailed overview of the contemporary state of research on the period in question as well as an outline of the most important research problems for further investigations. Since the publication of that paper, further research on the prehistory of Northeastern Africa has shed new light on the issues pointed out by M. Kobusiewicz. This article reviews the most recent studies on one of those issues, e.g., the origins of the Neolithic in Northeastern Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of SportLogia is the property of University Banja Luka, Faculty of Physical Education & Sports and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents a new approach to calculating the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) using a stochastic model under an uncertainty and risk perspective. The research problem is associated with how to integrate the concept of financial risk to assess investments in small-scale green hydrogen production for more robust results, resolving issues related to underlying economic and technical factors, often overlooked, that may impact the production of green hydrogen in Brazil and Germany. The approach is applied to an investment project at two localities: Itajubá, Brazil, and Cologne, Germany, to investigate the underlying economic and technical factors that may impact the production of green hydrogen. In this stochastic approach, the Value at Risk (VaR) is calculated with a confidence level of 95% for 5000 LCOH values for each city, generated by the Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS). MCS results show that a correlation between assumptions (uncertainties) significantly affects LCOH with more favorable conditions to produce green hydrogen in Cologne. The risk analysis results show a significant difference concerning the deterministic approach when implementing the risk measure with VaR-LCOH of US$8.39 for Itajubá and VaR-LCOH of US$8.21 for Cologne. • Green hydrogen Investments are evaluated techno-economically in Brazil and Germany. • A Monte Carlo approach under uncertainty and risk conditions is implemented. • A stochastic LCOH based on VaR-LCOH metric is proposed to evaluate the risk. • The different nuances that the assumptions assume in calculating LCOH are discussed. • The risk analysis shows a difference regarding the deterministic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is aimed at thorough studying and analysis of Bachelor’s program in “Integrated Design” in International School of Design (KISD) at Cologne University of Applied Sciences to outline positive features and aspects of the experience that can be borrowed for implementing similar programs in universities of developing countries. It has been defined that KISD Bachelor’s program in “Integrated Design” relies on study that goes beyond the traditional framework of design and combines different designer approaches, practice and techniques. It presupposes students’ work in at least ten out of twelve KISD branches of knowledge: Image and Motion, Identity and Design, Design for Manufacturing, Design Concepts, Design and Economy, Design Theory and Research, Gender and Design, Interface Design and Interaction Design, Ecology and Design, Production Technology, Service Design, Typography and Layout. Students’ professional orientation in KISD is organized in four stages: Discoveries; Connections; International; Focus. Additional requirement is a program-related aptitude test due to which students can demonstrate their aptitude to the program. Bachelor’s program in “Integrated Design” specialty offers 2 courses of study to students at the end of the first year of studying: “Integrated Studies in Design” and “European Studies in Design”. Study at the program of “Integrated Design” is project-oriented and organized in modules. Successful completion of the study program is verified by module exams throughout the whole study program and Final Exam (Bachelor’s thesis and Final Presentation). Exams can be of several types: oral, written, other (home assignments, a Study Journal (portfolio) etc.) and combined. The Defense takes place after the Presentation and is aimed at evaluating students’ abilities to present the work orally, independently explain and be aware of the practical application of the results of the Bachelor’s thesis; its subject-related and methodical aspects; interdisciplinary contexts; and interdisciplinary prospects. The procedure of calculating the final accumulative grade for the Bachelor’s exam has been described in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies a probation program in Cologne, Germany. The program, which has a clear rehabilitative focus, offers intensified personal support to serious juvenile offenders over the first 6 months of their probation period. To evaluate the program's impact on recidivism, we draw on two research designs. Firstly, a small‐scale randomized trial assigns offenders to probation with regular or intensified support. Secondly, a regression discontinuity design exploits a cutoff that defines program eligibility. The results suggest that the program reduces recidivism. The effect seems persistent over at least 3 years. Our evidence further indicates that the drop in recidivism is strongest among less severe offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses a selection of the most popular systems classifying weather types found in climatological literature. The review focuses on the choice of meteorological elements and their value ranges as the differentiating criteria. Examples of the application of some of these systems are presented, as well as a number of possible analyses that could be attempted. In order to investigate this, use was made of 1961–2010 meteorological data from stations in Warsaw (Poland) and Cologne (Germany). It was found that the annual and long-term changes in the types of weather reflect the diversity and variability of the climate in both cities very well, and allow the stability (non-changeability) of weather to be quantified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of building exposure models for seismic risk assessment is frequently challenging due to the lack of availability of detailed information on building structures. Different strategies have been developed in recent years to overcome this, including the use of census data, remote sensing imagery and volunteered graphic information (VGI). This paper presents the development of a building-by-building exposure model based exclusively on openly available datasets, including both VGI and census statistics, which are defined at different levels of spatial resolution and for different moments in time. The initial model stemming purely from building-level data is enriched with statistics aggregated at the neighbourhood and city level by means of a Monte Carlo simulation that enables the generation of full realisations of damage estimates when using the exposure model in the context of an earthquake scenario calculation. Though applicable to any other region of interest where analogous datasets are available, the workflow and approach followed are explained by focusing on the case of the German city of Cologne, for which a scenario earthquake is defined and the potential damage is calculated. The resulting exposure model and damage estimates are presented, and it is shown that the latter are broadly consistent with damage data from the 1978 Albstadt earthquake, notwithstanding the differences in the scenario. Through this real-world application we demonstrate the potential of VGI and open data to be used for exposure modelling for natural risk assessment, when combined with suitable knowledge on building fragility and accounting for the inherent uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are particularly affected by climate change impacts. Due to global warming, the frequency and intensity of summer heat events increases for many cities around the globe. Urban climatological studies have shown significant positive trends in the number of hot days and tropical nights. Heat stress is an important health as well as economic risk. Thus, urban planning needs to adapt to climate change. This requires a sound scientific analysis of different adaptation measures and management options, which must be based on appropriate data, models and scenarios to assess their suitability and efficacy. The goal of this paper is to assess the suitability of a low cost weather station network consisting of 33 NETATMO weather sensors and ultrasonic anemometers to measure air temperature, relative air humidity, wind speed and wind direction of a 16 ha study area in Cologne with high temporal and spatial resolution to support microclimatological modelling. The temperature and humidity sensors were calibrated against a research grade reference sensor under laboratory conditions. In addition, a research grade meteorological station (Campbell Sci.) was set up in the study area as a reference. The NETATMO sensors were placed to identify local microclimatic effects due to different surface types, vegetation and building structures. Using descriptive statistical analyses and pairwise comparisons, significant differences in the microclimatic conditions of the various sites were found, which can clearly be attributed to specific small scale microclimate factors. Significant differences were particularly identified comparing an avenue and a narrow street as well as a backyard and an urban park area. The sensors proved to provide data reliably and with suitable quality to measure microclimatic effects. The choice of sensors lends itself well for citizen participation, needed to facilitate climate change adaptation. In our further research, the data will be used as reference data for microclimatological modelling with ENVI-met investigating particularly options of mitigating climate change effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the success of the thriller Der neunte Arm des Oktopus (transl.: The Ninth Arm of the Octopus, Cologne: Bastei Lübbe, November 2020) by German drugstore magnate Dirk Rossmann. Certain elements of brand-name authorship are applicable here, but the market power of Rossmann goes far beyond name recognition. Beyond the typical marketing for a 'big book' in the sense of contemporary trade publishing, Rossmann flooded the campaign with his own funds. This contribution approaches an unlikely case study through a trilateral interdisciplinary perspective (book studies, economics, law), underlining the unequal footing on which books enter the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density of people living together in a given time and region is a crucial factor. Because direct data on past demographic developments are lacking, and reliability and validity of demographic proxies require careful evaluation, the topic has been approached from several different directions. This paper provides an introduction to a geostatistical approach for estimating prehistoric population size and density, the so-called Cologne Protocol and discusses underlying theoretical assumptions and upscaling transferfunctions between different spatial scale levels. We describe and compare the specifics for farming and for foraging societies and, using examples, discuss a diachronic series of estimates, covering the population dynamics of roughly 40 kyr of European prehistory. Ethnohistoric accounts, results from other approaches--including absolute (ethno-environmental models) and relative estimates (site-numbers, dates as data, etc.) allow a first positioning of the estimates within this field of research. Future enhancements, applications and testing of the Cologne Protocol are outlined and positioned within the general theoretical and methodological avenues of palaeodemographic research. In addition, we provide manuals for modelling Core Areas in MAPINFO, ARCGIS, QGIS/SAGA and R. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a growing body of research has been emerging that focuses on changes in travel behaviour over an individual's life course. It has been labelled the 'mobility biographies approach' and highlights changes in travelling induced by key events and experiences in an individual's life course. In this context residential relocation plays an important role. This paper examines changes in travel mode use after residential relocations using structural equation modelling. It draws on retrospectively recorded empirical data collected in the region of Cologne. The findings show that relocations and associated changes in the built environment induce significant changes in car ownership and travel mode use and thus may be regarded as key events in an individual's mobility biography. Changes in levels of satisfaction with attributes of the built environment have a significant impact in this context as well. The causal direction of the changes fulfils expectations: suburbanisation is followed by increases in car use and decreases in public transport use, bicycle use and walking. The opposite is true for relocations into the city. In addition, changes in household structure that tend to go along with relocation have significant effects. The findings provide further evidence for the built environment having a causal impact on mode use: modal changes temporally follow changes in the built environment and thus appear to be adjustments to the new spatial setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bautechnik is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Bautechnik is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As a prominent and performative discourse, The Smart City has the potential to shape urban futures. Yet, its mostly top-down implementation and dominantly technocratic definition of problems raises critiques of The Smart City as the latest version of a series of post-political and neoliberal visions of urban governance. However, as smart cities are implemented into 'actually existing' strategies locally, they are always negotiated and translated into place-specific contexts. Beyond critiquing the powerful discourse of The Smart City, the social innovation–(re)politicisation nexus (SIRN) spells out a framework for contesting and co-producing radically transformative smart city visions and politics as they take shape on the ground. Linking the empirical case study of the 'top-down' implementation of SmartCity Cologne, Germany, to current 'bottom-up' discourses on reclaiming the urban commons, we show how 'true' and 'real' social innovation must go hand-in-hand with a re-politicisation of hegemonic logics and discursive framings. In doing so, this paper makes theoretical and empirical contributions to public and academic discourse on which governance practices, methods and policies could contribute to radical transformations towards a 'truly' smart and sustainable urban future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses choice of airport and access mode in the region of Cologne, Germany. It uses a nested logit approach enhanced by several innovations to improve model applicability in the real world. The paper considers both private and business travellers, and applies models for seven different market segments defined by journey purpose and type of destination. The research aims to show how airport and access mode characteristics interact in a complex way to determine choice of airport and access mode. In particular, the importance of good airport access for high-speed trains and the supply of direct and low-cost flights to selected destinations are highlighted and quantified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few years, the Biophysics Working Group of the Institute of Aerospace Medicine of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) started the development of a small low power consumption radiation detector system for the measurement of the absorbed dose to be applied in various environments, such as onboard aircraft, in space, and also as a demonstration tool for students. These so called DLR M-42 detectors are based on an electronics design, which can easily be adjusted to the user- and mission-requirements. M-42 systems were already applied for measurements in airplanes, during two MAPHEUS (Materialphysikalische Experimente unter Schwerelosigkeit) rocket missions, and are currently prepared for long term balloon experiments. In addition, they will be part of the dosimetry suite of the upcoming Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment on the NASA Artemis I mission. This paper gives an overview of the design and the testing of the DLR M-42 systems and provides highlighted results from the MAPHEUS campaigns where the detectors were tested for the first time under space flight conditions. Results clearly show that the system design enables independent measurements starting upon rocket launch due to the built-in accelerometer sensors and provides data for the relevant 6 min of μ-gravity as given for the MAPHEUS missions. These 6 min of the μ-gravity environment at altitudes between 100 and 240 km lead to a total absorbed dose of 1.21 ± 0.15 µGy being equivalent to half a day of radiation background measured with the M-42 in the laboratory at DLR, Cologne, Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014 the International Endohernia Society (IEHS) published the first international "Guidelines for laparoscopic treatment of ventral and incisional abdominal wall hernias". Guidelines reflect the currently best available evidence in diagnostics and therapy and give recommendations to help surgeons to standardize their techniques and to improve their results. However, science is a dynamic field which is continuously developing. Therefore, guidelines require regular updates to keep pace with the evolving literature.Methods: For the development of the original guidelines all relevant literature published up to year 2012 was analyzed using the ranking of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based-Medicine. For the present update all of the previous authors were asked to evaluate the literature published during the recent years from 2012 to 2017 and revise their statements and recommendations given in the initial guidelines accordingly. In two Consensus Conferences (October 2017 Beijing, March 2018 Cologne) the updates were presented, discussed, and confirmed. To avoid redundancy, only new statements or recommendations are included in this paper. Therefore, for full understanding both of the guidelines, the original and the current, must be read. In addition, the new developments in repair of abdominal wall hernias like surgical techniques within the abdominal wall, release operations (transversus muscle release, component separation), Botox application, and robot-assisted repair methods were included.Results: Due to an increase of the number of patients and further development of surgical techniques, repair of primary and secondary abdominal wall hernias attracts increasing interests of many surgeons. Whereas up to three decades ago hernia-related publications did not exceed 20 per year, currently this number is about 10-fold higher. Recent years are characterized by the advent of new techniques-minimal invasive techniques using robotics and laparoscopy, totally extraperitoneal repairs, novel myofascial release techniques for optimal closure of large defects, and Botox for relaxing the abdominal wall. Furthermore, a concomitant rectus diastasis was recognized as a significant risk factor for recurrence. Despite still insufficient evidence with respect to these new techniques it seemed to us necessary to include them in the update to stimulate surgeons to do research in these fields.Conclusion: Guidelines are recommendations based on best available evidence intended to help the surgeon to improve the quality of his daily work. However, science is a continuously evolving process, and as such guidelines should be updated about every 3 years. For a comprehensive reference, however, it is suggested to read both the initially guidelines published in 2014 together with the update. Moreover, the presented update includes also techniques which were not known 3 years before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, the International Endohernia Society (IEHS) published the first international "Guidelines for laparoscopic treatment of ventral and incisional abdominal wall hernias." Guidelines reflect the currently best available evidence in diagnostics and therapy and give recommendations to help surgeons to standardize their techniques and to improve their results. However, science is a dynamic field which is continuously developing. Therefore, guidelines require regular updates to keep pace with the evolving literature.Methods: For the development of the original guidelines, all relevant literature published up to year 2012 was analyzed using the ranking of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. For the present update, all of the previous authors were asked to evaluate the literature published during the recent years from 2012 to 2017 and revise their statements and recommendations given in the initial guidelines accordingly. In two Consensus Conferences (October 2017 Beijing, March 2018 Cologne), the updates were presented, discussed, and confirmed. To avoid redundancy, only new statements or recommendations are included in this paper. Therefore, for full understanding both of the guidelines, the original and the current, must be read. In addition, the new developments in repair of abdominal wall hernias like surgical techniques within the abdominal wall, release operations (transversus muscle release, component separation), Botox application, and robot-assisted repair methods were included.Results: Due to an increase of the number of patients and further development of surgical techniques, repair of primary and secondary abdominal wall hernias attracts increasing interests of many surgeons. Whereas up to three decades ago hernia-related publications did not exceed 20 per year, currently this number is about 10-fold higher. Recent years are characterized by the advent of new techniques-minimal invasive techniques using robotics and laparoscopy, totally extraperitoneal repairs, novel myofascial release techniques for optimal closure of large defects, and Botox for relaxing the abdominal wall. Furthermore, a concomitant rectus diastasis was recognized as a significant risk factor for recurrence. Despite insufficient evidence with respect to these new techniques, it seemed to us necessary to include them in the update to stimulate surgeons to do research in these fields.Conclusion: Guidelines are recommendations based on best available evidence intended to help the surgeon to improve the quality of his daily work. However, science is a continuously evolving process, and as such guidelines should be updated about every 3 years. For a comprehensive reference, however, it is suggested to read both the initial guidelines published in 2014 together with the update. Moreover, the presented update includes also techniques which were not known 3 years before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the presence of erythematosquamous lesions. A wide variety of topical treatments for therapy of this pathology are available, including sodium bicarbonate (SB). A few papers reported in literature focus on use of SB baths for treatment of psoriasis, but none assess evidence concerning the efficacy of SB topical preparations. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a galenic SB in lanette vax formulation compared with lanette vax base in mild to moderate stable plaque psoriasis. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, intrapatient, controlled study was performed in 28 days. Thirty patients of both genders were selected for testing. A blinded investigator evaluated the patients' psoriasis using a modified Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), body surface area (BSA), and objective parameters using sensors (Multiprobe Adapter MPA5; Courage & Khazaka Electronic GmbH, Cologne, Germany). Results: Data analysis of objective parameters highlighted that use of the SB topical preparation led to no improvement in skin hydration, no reduction in transepidermal water loss, and no decrease of erythema. The modified PASI and BSA did not change from baseline. Conclusions: The results obtained show that use of the studied product did not improve psoriatic lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is an early α-synucleinopathy often accompanied by incipient cognitive impairment. As executive dysfunctions predict earlier phenotypic conversion from iRBD to Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia, cognitive training focusing on executive functions could have disease-modifying effects for individuals with iRBD. Methods: The study CogTrAiL-RBD investigates the short- and long-term effectiveness and the feasibility and underlying neural mechanisms of a cognitive training intervention for individuals with iRBD. The intervention consists of a 5-week digital cognitive training accompanied by a module promoting a healthy, active lifestyle. In this monocentric, single-blinded, delayed-start randomized controlled trial, the intervention's effectiveness will be evaluated compared to an initially passive control group that receives the intervention in the second, open-label phase of the study. Eighty individuals with iRBD confirmed by polysomnography will be consecutively recruited from the continuously expanding iRBD cohort at the University Hospital Cologne. The evaluation will focus on cognition and additional neuropsychological and motor variables. Furthermore, the study will examine the feasibility of the intervention, effects on physical activity assessed by accelerometry, and interrogate the intervention's neural effects using magnetic resonance imaging and polysomnography. Besides, a healthy, age-matched control group (HC) will be examined at the first assessment time point, enabling a cross-sectional comparison between individuals with iRBD and HC. Discussion: This study will provide insights into whether cognitive training and psychoeducation on a healthy, active lifestyle have short- and long-term (neuro-)protective effects for individuals with iRBD. Trial registration: The study was prospectively registered in the German Clinical Trial Register (DRKS00024898) on 2022–03-11, https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00024898. Protocol version: V5 2023–04-24. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ciência & Trópico (03042685) is the property of Fundacao Joaquim Nabuco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of GMS Journal for Medical Education is the property of German Medical Science Publishing House gGmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The global competition for highly-skilled professionals and their knowledge has grown over the past decades. Cities have increasingly become aware of the importance of highly-skilled labour for their future development. The aim of our paper is to analyse urban policies towards highly-skilled migrants. Our paper is based on empirical research in three German university cities, Aachen, Bonn and Cologne. Our results emphasize that there is a growing awareness of local policy-makers concerning this topic. We found that the cities made efforts to create a welcoming culture in order to attract and retain highly-skilled migrants. However, there are differences between our cities regarding their approaches to attract highly-skilled migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the Europe-wide smart health innovation hub implemented in the context of the Horizon Europe SHIFT-HUB project, our work concerns the identification of specific medical research ecosystems in the two fields, namely cardiovascular diseases and mental illness, with Cologne as the central location. To achieve this aim, the websites of involved organizations were used for data research purposes, and the members of each respective ecosystem or network were identified by acquiring information about their cooperation partners. A variety of selection criteria have been applied to filter out whether these partners were suitable to be considered as a further starting point for the research. The results indicate the existence of ecosystems in the two fields, with Cologne as the central location, in which various stakeholders, including healthcare institutions, healthcare providers, foundations, NGOs, and the business community, work closely together. Larger institutions are usually networked at an international level, while smaller institutions increasingly depend on and foster regional partnerships. This promotes cooperation and the exchange of knowledge at the regional level and facilitates direct contact with the people affected, i.e., patients' groups. Research institutions in both fields often receive financial support from commercial organizations, which highlights the importance of the business community's involvement in exploiting research results and promoting the quality of healthcare. The article highlights the complexity and interdisciplinarity of the particular ecosystems, with all the different categories of institutions comprising an indispensable position. The interaction amongst stakeholders at international, regional, and local levels can significantly help to deploy resources more effectively and improve the quality of life of people suffering from any of the two conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2nd International FEBS‐IUBMB‐ENABLE Molecular Biosciences PhD and Postdoc Conference was held from 23rd to 25th November 2023 in Cologne, Germany. Over 240 participants from 31 different countries came together at the University of Cologne to follow the two‐day scientific symposium and the career day. This year's topic was "The emerging challenge – environmental impacts on human health". In four different sessions, eight renowned keynote speakers presented their current research. By offering flash and short talks, 39 participants were able to present their work in front of a big audience. Scientific exchange and networking were encouraged during the two poster sessions, during breaks, and the conference dinner. On the Career Day, a career fair was held and participants could attend workshops as well as career chats to improve their job prospects. The success of the series will be continued during the next conference edition: "Artificial Intelligence – Reshaping biomedical and healthcare research", which will take place 4th to 6th December 2024 in Singapore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Urban Studies (Sage Publications, Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Oncolytic viruses and combinatorial immunotherapy for cancer (this Special Issue) are both part of cancer treatment at IOZK. This review focusses on an individual multimodal cancer immunotherapy concept developed by IOZK, Cologne, Germany. The scientific rationale for employing three main components is explained: (i) oncolytic Newcastle disease virus, (ii) modulated electrohyperthermia and (iii) individual tumor antigen and oncolytic virus modified dendritic cell vaccine (IO-VACR). The strategy involves repeated cancer-immunity cycles evoked in cancer patients by systemic oncolytic virus exposure plus hyperthermia pretreatment to induce immunogenic cell death followed by intradermal IO-VACR vaccination. As an example of the experience at IOZK, we present the latest results from combining the immunotherapy with standard treatment of patients suffering from glioblastoma multiforme. The promising clinical results in terms of overall survival benefit of additional individualized multimodal immunotherapy are presented. The cancer-immunity cycle, as introduced 10 years ago, describes key important steps occurring locally at the sites of both tumor and draining lymph nodes. This view is extended here towards systemic events occuring in blood where immunogenic cell death-induced tumor antigens are transported into the bone marrow. For 20 years it has been known that bone marrow is an antigen-responsive organ in which dendritic cells present tumor antigens to T cells leading to immunological synapse formation, tumor antigen-specific T cell activation and memory T cell formation. Bone marrow is known to be the most prominent source of de novo cellular generation in the body and to play an important role for the storage and maintenance of immunological memory. Its systemic activation is recommended to augment cancer-immunity cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]