Search

Following ini􀀂al declines, in mid 2020, a resurgence in transmission of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has occurred in the United States and parts of Europe. Despite the wide implementa􀀂on of non-pharmaceu􀀂cal inter-ven􀀂ons, it is s􀀂ll not known how they are impacted by changing contact pa􀀁erns, age and other demographics. As COVID-19 disease control becomes more localised, understanding the age demographics driving transmission and how these impact the loosening of interven􀀂ons such as school reopening is crucial. Considering dynamics for the United States, we analyse aggregated, age-specific mobility trends from more than 10 million individuals and link these mechanis􀀂cally to age-specific COVID-19 mortality data. In contrast to previous approaches, we link mobility to mortality via age specific contact pa􀀁erns and use this rich rela􀀂onship to reconstruct accurate trans-mission dynamics. Contrary to anecdotal evidence, we find li􀀁le support for age-shi􀀃s in contact and transmission dynamics over 􀀂me. We es􀀂mate that, un􀀂l August, 63.4% [60.9%-65.5%] of SARS-CoV-2 infec􀀂ons in the United States originated from adults aged 20-49, while 1.2% [0.8%-1.8%] originated from children aged 0-9. In areas with con􀀂nued, community-wide transmission, our transmission model predicts that re-opening kindergartens and el-ementary schools could facilitate spread and lead to considerable excess COVID-19 a􀀁ributable deaths over a 90-day period. These findings indicate that targe􀀂ng interven􀀂ons to adults aged 20-49 are an important con-sidera􀀂on in hal􀀂ng resurgent epidemics, and preven􀀂ng COVID-19-a􀀁ributable deaths when kindergartens and elementary schools reopen.

In this paper, an investigation is presented that demonstrates the application of a new approach for enabling the reduction of liquid slosh by implementing optimized motion profiles over a continuous range of operating speeds. Liquid slosh occurs in the packaging process of beverages. Starting by creating a dynamic process model, optimal control theory is applied for calculating optimal motion profiles that minimize residual vibration. Subsequently, the difficulty of operating speed dependency of the herewith synthesized motion profiles is examined. An approach in which the optimal motion profiles are consolidated into a characteristic map of motion specifications, which can be executed by a programmable logic controller in real time, is discussed. Eventually, the success of this novel approach is demonstrated by the comparison with state-of-the-art motion profiles and conventional motion implementation.

The spatial distribution of protons accelerated from submicron-thick plastic foil targets using multi-terawatt, frequency-doubled laser pulses with ultra-high temporal contrast has been investigated experimentally. A very stable, ring-like beam profile of the accelerated protons, oriented around the target's normal direction has been observed. The ring's opening angle has been found to decrease with increasing foil thicknesses. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations reproduce our results indicating that the ring is formed during the expansion of the proton density distribution into the vacuum as described by the mechanism of target-normal sheath acceleration. Here - in addition to the longitudinal electric fields responsible for the forward acceleration of the protons - a lateral charge separation leads to transverse field components accelerating the protons in the lateral direction.

We investigate the transfer of talent management knowledge into a Slovak manufacturing setting from a translation perspective. The translator is shown to be the key agent in the cross-national, cross-language knowledge transfer process, who not only provides linguistic translation, but also cultural-political interpretation of key vocabularies. By drawing on different approaches to translation we show that a) discourse and language cannot be separated in knowledge transfer interventions and that b) the translator is a key agent in shaping the cross-culture transfer process by addressing the ‘discursive void’ that characterises local experiences with, and knowledge about, talent management. We develop understanding about the role of bilingual, bicultural agents in international knowledge transfer.

Salinity preference and responses to predatory chemical cues were examined both separately and simultaneously in freshwater (FW) and saltwater (SW)-acclimated sailfin mollies Poecilia latipinna, a euryhaline species. It was hypothesized that P. latipinna would prefer FW over SW, move away from chemical cues from a crayfish predator, and favour predator avoidance over osmoregulation when presented with both demands. Both FW and SW-acclimated P. latipinna preferred FW and actively avoided predator cues. When presented with FW plus predator cues v. SW with no cues, P. latipinna were more often found in FW plus predator cues. These results raise questions pertaining to the potential osmoregulatory stress of salinity transitions in euryhaline fishes relative to the potential fitness benefits and whether euryhalinity is utilized for predator avoidance. This study sheds light on the potential benefits and consequences of being salt tolerant or intolerant and complicates the understanding of the selection pressures that have favoured the different osmoregulatory mechanisms among fishes.

HRM practices have fared well across national borders due to globalization. The field of international HRM has learnt us a great deal by exploring different effects on HRM implementation in different countries. Our symposium is rooted in two main streams of the literature, HRM effectiveness and HRM challenges of Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) in different regions of the world. Overall, it is acknowledged that HRM philosophy and practices are context specific and shaped by specific organizational dynamics as well as socio-cultural, economic and political contexts. Therefore, one must expect HRM policies and practices to differ in content and emphasis across national borders. Along with a long list of HRM-related issues, the literature does not pay attention yet enough to the involvement of line managers in HRM implementation in international context. In case of MNCs structures, HRM philosophies and policies are usually designed at the headquarters and communicated through towards subsidiaries, but it may be line subsidiaries-based managers who, in the end, take final responsibilities to implement centrally designed HRM systems. In case of indigenous organizations, the main logic remains: line managers stay responsible for the execution of HR practices.

Aim of the study was to evaluate a hybrid liver support system in a porcine model of acute liver failure, after hepatectomy. Pigs with a body weight of 70±18 kg underwent total hepatectomy and porto - cavo - caval shunting as well as ligation of the bile duct and the hepatic artery. Control animals were connected to the system (including capillary membrane plasma separation) containing a four compartment bioreactor with integral oxygenation and decentralized mass exchange but without liver cells. The treatment group received hybrid liver support with the same system including 370±42 g primary isolated porcine parenchymal liver cells in co-culture with hepatocyte nursing cells, tissue engineered to liver- like structures at high density. Treatment started after complete recovery from anesthesia and was performed continuously. A positive influence on peripheral vascular resistance and a reduced need of catecholamine dosage was observed in the treatment group. Hybrid liver support with a cell module upscaled for clinical application significantly prolonged survival time in animals after hepatectomy with the longest survival being 26 hours in the control group an 57 hours in the treatment group.

Objective: To propose possible success-driven solutions for problem and complication rates encountered with the ATOMS® sling system, based on first-hand experience; and to provide possible actual alternative scenarios for the treatment of male stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Patients and methods: During the defined period (between 4/2010 and 04/2014), 36 patients received ATOMS® system implants at our clinic. We collected pre- and post-operative evaluation data using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICIQ SF). As an expansion of the questionnaire, we added questions about post-operative perineal pain, the general satisfaction with the results of the intervention and willingness to recommend the operation to a best friend. Results: Our data shows a relatively high explantation rate, but a surprisingly high patient satisfaction rate. Explantation was required mainly due to late onset infections or other symptomatic factors. Compared to other studies early onset infections were rare. Conclusion: A non-invasive, uncomplicated adjustable system to alleviate male stress urinary incontinence remains a challenge. Although there are various systems available for the treatment of male stress urinary incontinence, it seems that despite the advantages of the ATOMS® system, an artificial sphincter system may pose more advantages based on our experience, understanding and knowledge of its well-documented long-term solutions and problems., GMS Interdisciplinary Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery DGPW; 3:Doc15; ISSN 2193-8091

Results from the Phébus-FP integral experiments have changed significantly the expectations for gaseous iodine behavior in reactor containments following nuclear accidents. Collaborative efforts underway to understand the behavior of gaseous iodine are focused on the interaction of iodine with epoxy paint. Experimental and ab initio analyses are being used to develop mechanistic descriptions of iodine absorption by paint and the evolution of both molecular iodine and methyl iodide from irradiated paint. Mechanistic understandings of these processes are needed to use findings from the studies for applications in analyses of the variety of paints found in power plants that have aged in service and will degrade during reactor accidents

The behaviour of the radiologically important element iodine is extensively studied in SARNET2, a main concern being how much iodine could be present in the containment atmosphere in the event of a severe accident, and hence be released to the environment in the event of containment failure or containment venting. A main interest is the formation of gaseous organic iodine, which is difficult to remove by filtration; specific topics here are the reaction of iodine with paints on containment walls, and the formation/destruction of iodine oxides (IOx), as seen in several experiments so far performed.

Fragestellung: 1997 hat Zwipp ein 5-Punkte-System zur Klassifikation komplexer Fußverletzungen vorgestellt. Die Lebensqualität und das Outcome nach diesen Verletzungen wurden in der Literatur bisher noch nicht systematisch behandelt. Daher sollte im Rahmen einer prospektiven Querschnittstudie[for full text, please go to the a.m. URL], Deutscher Kongress für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie; 73. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Unfallchirurgie, 95. Tagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Orthopädie und Orthopädische Chirurgie, 50. Tagung des Berufsverbandes der Fachärzte für Orthopädie

In a screen for flavonoid target proteins we identified actin as a quercetin-binding protein. This interaction was studied using fluorescence and infrared spectroscopy and compared with the binding parameters of related flavonoids. The biological relevance of the flavonoid/actin interaction in the cytoplasm and the nucleus was assayed using an actin polymerization and a transcription assay, respectively. While some flavonols inhibit actin functions, the structurally related epigallocatechin tends to promote actin functions in the chosen in vitro assays. Furthermore, cellular test systems were used to evaluate the biological consequences of the flavonoid/actin interaction. The flavonoid – induced conformational changes of actin were analyzed by infrared spectroscopy. The obtained data and in silico docking studies gave further insights into possible modes of protein-ligand interactions and helped to understand the molecular basis of the observed biological effects.

"The empirical study of the cognitive processes at work in various forms of translation makes it possible to leave aside the idealistic postulate of a universal grammar of human culture. The ontological problem, then, no longer refers to the different conceptions of the world expressed in different languages, but to the multiple non-systematic ways of constantly activating different forms of thought [...].

Intercultural encounters in the workplace are frequently plurilingual, intercultural, socially constructed interactions that are situated in time, place, space, and purpose. Competence in one encounter can very quickly manifest as incompetence in another supposedly similar context. This complexity puts into question formulaic, essentialist models of intercultural communication and competence that have characterised much cross-cultural business/management education. While these approaches provide some insights into behaviour and communication of people in “Culture X”, they often result in stereotyping, grounded in ethnocentric and prejudiced attitudes; and this stereotyping, in turn, may lead to “othering”. One response to these static models of how culture is understood has seen the rise in popularity of theories and models of intercultural competence, often subscribing to the idea that communication with (cultural) others should be both “appropriate” and “effective” to enable individuals to “achieve their goals”. This position is exemplified in the definition offered by Spitzberg and Changnon (2009)—which emerged from their in their seminal synthesis of multiple models of intercultural competence—as “the appropriate and effective management of interaction between people who, to some degree or another, represent different or divergent affective, cognitive, and behaviour orientations to the world” (p. 7). Thus, the term “intercultural competence” and the variety of models, frameworks, and theories in its name, have come to be seen by some in the cross-cultural communication literature as both a panacea and a solution when interacting with people from other cultures. 2 In this chapter I begin by outlining some reasons why traditional cross-cultural management education and training approaches are no longer appropriate in the second decade of the 21st century, and some shortcomings of the theoretical concept “intercultural competence”. I discuss how terms like “culture” and “identity”, when no longer treated as solid and static states, and multilingualism offer possibilities for new understandings of intercultural encounters. In my own teaching approach I encourage students to engage in practices and in research and assessment tasks that invite them to move beyond a preoccupation with aggregate and/or static models of culture and cultural differences. By drawing on social constructionism as a theoretical standpoint for understanding and experiencing intercultural encounters, I provide a possible pedagogy and possible assessment approach that invites learners to consider more deeply the nature of intercultural encounters, and simultaneously, monitor their own intercultural communication within them.