TY - JOUR A1 - Treutwein, Marius A1 - Steger, Felix A1 - Löschel, Rainer A1 - Kölbl, Oliver A1 - Dobler, Barbara T1 - The influence of radiotherapy techniques on the plan quality and on the risk of secondary tumors in patients with pituitary adenoma JF - BMC cancer N2 - BACKGROUND: This planning study compares different radiotherapy techniques for patients with pituitary adenoma, including flatness filter free mode (FFF), concerning plan quality and secondary malignancies for potentially young patients. The flatness filter has been described as main source of photon scatter. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eleven patients with pituitary adenoma were included. An Elekta Synergy™ linac was used in the treatment planning system Oncentra® and for the measurements. 3D plans, IMRT, and VMAT plans and non-coplanar varieties were considered. The plan quality was evaluated regarding homogeneity, conformity, delivery time and dose to the organs at risk. The secondary malignancy risk was calculated from dose volume data and from measured dose to the periphery using different models for carcinoma and sarcoma risk. RESULTS: The homogeneity and conformity were nearly unchanged with and without flattening filter, neither was the delivery time found substantively different. VMAT plans were more homogenous, conformal and faster in delivery than IMRT plans. The secondary cancer risk was reduced with FFF both in the treated region and in the periphery. VMAT plans resulted in a higher secondary brain cancer risk than IMRT plans, but the risk for secondary peripheral cancer was reduced. Secondary sarcoma risk plays a minor role. No advantage was found for non-coplanar techniques. The FFF delivery times were not shortened due to additional monitor units needed and technical limitations. The risk for secondary brain cancer seems to depend on the irradiated volume. Secondary sarcoma risk is much smaller than carcinoma risk in accordance to the results of the atomic bomb survivors. The reduction of the peripheral dose and resulting secondary malignancy risk for FFF is statistically significant. However, it is negligible in comparison to the risk in the treated region. CONCLUSION: Treatments with FFF can reduce secondary malignancy risk while retaining similar quality as with flattening filter and should be preferred. VMAT plans show the best plan quality combined with lowest peripheral secondary malignancy risk, but highest level of second brain cancer risk. Taking this into account VMAT FFF seems the most advantageous technique for the treatment of pituitary adenomas with the given equipment. KW - Adenoma/radiotherapy KW - Age Factors KW - Female KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Pituitary Neoplasms/radiotherapy KW - Radiotherapy Dosage KW - risk factors Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-020-6535-y VL - 20 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Springer ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grabitz, Peter A1 - Friedmann, Zoe A1 - Gepp, Sophie A1 - Hess, Leonard U. A1 - Specht, Lisa A1 - Struck, Maja A1 - Tragert, Sophie Kira A1 - Walther, Tobias A1 - Klemperer, David T1 - Quantity and quality of conflict of interest policies at German medical schools BT - a cross-sectional study and survey JF - BMJ open N2 - OBJECTIVES: To assess the quantity and evaluate the quality of policies and curricula focusing on conflicts of interests (COI) at medical schools across Germany. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study, survey of medical schools, standardised web search. SETTING: Medical schools, Germany. PARTICIPANTS: 38 German medical schools. - INTERVENTIONS: We collected relevant COI policies, including teaching activities, by conducting a search of the websites of all 38 German medical schools using standardised keywords for COI policies and teaching. Further, we surveyed all medical schools' dean's offices. Finally, we adapted a scoring system for results we obtained with 13 categories based on prior similar studies. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Presence or absence of COI-related policies, including teaching activities at medical school. The secondary outcome was the achieved score on a scale from 0 to 26, with high scores representing restrictive policies and sufficient teaching activities. RESULTS: We identified relevant policies for one medical school via the web search. The response rate of the deans' survey was 16 of 38 (42.1%). In total, we identified COI-related policies for 2 of 38 (5.3%) German medical schools, yet no policy was sufficient to address all COI-related categories that were assessed in this study. The maximum score achieved was 12 of 26. 36 (94.7%) schools scored 0. No medical school reported curricular teaching on COI. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate a low level of action by medical schools to protect students from undue commercial influence. No participating dean was aware of any curriculum or instruction on COI at the respective school and only two schools had policies in place. The German Medical Students Association and international counterparts have called for a stronger focus on COI in the classroom. We conclude that for German medical schools, there is still a long way to go. KW - Conflict of Interest KW - Cross-Sectional Studies KW - Curriculum KW - Germany KW - Humans KW - Policy KW - Schools, Medical Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039782 VL - 10 IS - 9 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - BMJ Publishing Group ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lenk, Christian A1 - Duttge, Gunnar A1 - Flatau, Laura A1 - Frommeld, Debora A1 - Poser, Wolfgang A1 - Reitt, Markus A1 - Schulze, Thomas A1 - Weber, Alexandra A1 - Zoll, Barbara T1 - A look into the future? Patients' and health care staff's perception and evaluation of genetic information and the right not to know JF - American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics N2 - The progress of medical genetics leads to a significant increase in genetic knowledge and a vast expansion of genetic diagnostics. However, it is still unknown how these changes will be integrated into medical practice and how they will change patients' and healthy persons' perception and evaluation of genetic diagnoses and genetic knowledge. Therefore, we carried out a comprehensive questionnaire survey with more than 500 patients, clients seeking genetic counseling, health care staff, and healthy persons (N = 523). The questionnaire survey covered detailed questions on the value of genetic diagnoses for the different groups of study participants, the right to know or not to know genetic diagnoses, possible differences between genetic and other medical diagnoses, and the practical use and implications of genetic knowledge with a special focus on hereditary neuropsychiatric diseases. A huge majority of the participants (90.7%) stated to have a right to learn every aspect of her or his genetic make-up. Similarly, study participants showed high interest (81.8%) in incidental health care findings-independent of whether the diseases are treatable or not. One can derive from the data outcome that study participants did not follow the implications of a "genetic exceptionalism" and often considered genetic findings as equivalent in relation to other medical diagnoses. KW - Attitude of Health Personnel KW - Female KW - Genetic Counseling/methods KW - Genetic Testing/ethics KW - Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice KW - Humans KW - Incidental Findings KW - Male KW - Middle Aged KW - Surveys and Questionnaires Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.b.32751 VL - 180 IS - 8 SP - 576 EP - 588 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nigg, Claudio R. A1 - Phu, Tatiana A1 - Mnich, Carina T1 - Strategies to prevent (STOP) substance use: a website for adolescents in Hawaii JF - Journal of Substance Use N2 - Background: Adolescent substance use is a global and local (Hawaii) problem. Therefore, the study goal was to develop and investigate the effect of an adolescent substance use prevention intervention website in Hawaii. Methods: A website was developed including drug overviews, health effects, how to stay away, external prevention and treatment resources, and an evaluation. Three grade 11 classes completed a baseline (T1) survey based on website content and a follow-up (T2) assessment after a 15-minute website interaction. - Results: At T1, 63/72 and at T2, 62 students participated (16–17 years old; 92% female; 87.2% Filipino). The number correct increased from 48.0% (SD = 14.5) at T1 to 82.0% (SD = 15.3) at T2 (t(59) = 13.5, p < .001). Eleven of twelve topics improved (p < .5) which addressed mental disorder drug use, workplace meth-use in Hawaii, Americans in need of drug/alcohol treatment, stimulant drugs, side effects of drugs, drug related domestic/child abuse, short-term drug effects, Hawaii and national methuse, chemicals in drugs, how to stay away, and ways of treatment. Conclusions: Adolescents improved their substance use prevention understanding. This is promising considering the brief, inexpensive, potentially scalable intervention which can be implemented within high school curricula. KW - adolescents KW - PREVENTION KW - Substance use KW - website Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/14659891.2019.1664659 VL - 25 IS - 1 SP - 88 EP - 94 PB - Taylor&Francis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mnich, Carina T1 - Is there Europeanization of physical activity promotion? BT - A neofunctional approach JF - Health policy N2 - Physical inactivity is a problem in Europe, contributing to various non-communicable diseases (NCDs). While health sciences offer data and models for preventing the development of NCDs through health promotion, they do not explain the dynamics between the different institutions and actors in the health field. Neofunctionalism refers to these different actors and suggests that their interaction leads to the construction of a supranational authority, allowing the actors to cooperate on common policies, rules and institutions, resulting in integration and Europeanization. Indeed, there are a variety of European Union (EU) institutions and policies concerned with physical activity (PA), however, the purpose of this paper is to analyze if Europeanization and integration are happening in PA promotion, through the lens of neofunctionalism. Analysis uses process tracing for investigating the emergence of PA on the EU agenda, the legal background, existing policies and institutions. Findings indicate that Europeanization and integration of PA promotion are happening, although the opportunity for actions of the EU are restricted to voluntary actions of the EU Member States due to the agreements in the Treaty of Lisbon. This only allows the EU institutions to apply soft law approaches on PA promotion, which seems to be implemented in some Member States despite its non-binding character. The findings are discussed and further implications for public health professionals and policies outlined. KW - EUROPE KW - European Union/organization & administration KW - Exercise KW - health policy KW - Health Promotion/organization & administration KW - Humans Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2019.01.004 VL - 123 IS - 3 SP - 317 EP - 326 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt, Simon A1 - Längler, Manuel A1 - Altenbuchner, Amelie A1 - Kobl, Louisa A1 - Gruber, Hans T1 - Acquiring the Art of Conducting: Deliberate Practice as Part of Professional Learning JF - Journal of Advanced Academics N2 - esearch was and still is involved in the controversial issue about innate talent or extensive practice as the determinants of excellent performance in a range of domains. This study aims to contribute by presenting an analysis of practice activities in a domain that appears to be particularly suitable—orchestral conducting. Most conductors usually attain expertise in instrument playing prior to commencing conducting studies. Twenty-seven students of German study programs of orchestral conducting (approximately 18.7% of the population) responded to a questionnaire about their practice activities in conducting programs and their instrumental experiences. Descriptive results show the wealth of prestudy experiences conducting students have. A clear influence on practice activities cannot be stated. During study, students rated conducting-specific practice activities as more demanding and devoted more time to them than to general music practice activities. Therefore, conducting-specific practice activities might have been practiced more deliberately than general music practice activities. KW - conducting KW - conservatory KW - deliberate practice KW - expertise KW - professional learning KW - talent development KW - university of music Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202x21995931 VL - 32 IS - 3 SP - 354 EP - 379 PB - Sage ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rothleitner, Christian A1 - Schlamminger, Stephan T1 - Invited Review Article: Measurements of the Newtonian constant of gravitation, G JF - Review of Scientific Instruments N2 - By many accounts, the Newtonian constant of gravitation G is the fundamental constant that is most difficult to measure accurately. Over the past three decades, more than a dozen precision measurements of this constant have been performed. However, the scatter of the data points is much larger than the uncertainties assigned to each individual measurement, yielding a Birge ratio of about five. Today, G is known with a relative standard uncertainty of 4.7 x 10(-5), which is several orders of magnitudes greater than the relative uncertainties of other fundamental constants. In this article, various methods to measure G are discussed. Alarge array of different instruments ranging from the simple torsion balance to the sophisticated atom interferometer can be used to determine G. Some instruments, such as the torsion balance can be used in several different ways. In this article, the advantages and disadvantages of different instruments as well as different methods are discussed. A narrative arc from the historical beginnings of the different methods to their modern implementation is given. Finally, the article ends with a brief overview of the current state of the art and an outlook. KW - acceleration KW - ADJUSTMENT KW - ATOM KW - BALANCE KW - CODATA RECOMMENDED VALUES KW - FORCE KW - FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICAL CONSTANTS KW - INTERFEROMETRY KW - MASS KW - PRECISION-MEASUREMENT Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4994619 VL - 88 IS - 11 PB - AIP Publishing ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kiesl, Hans T1 - Indirect Sampling: A Review of Theory and Recent Applications JF - AStA Wirtschafts- und Sozialstatistisches Archiv N2 - Survey practitioners regularly face the task to draw a sample from a (sub-) population for which no sampling frame exists. Indirect sampling might be a way out in such situations, given that connections exist between the target population and another population for which probability sampling is feasible. While the theory of indirect sampling originated in the context of household panel studies, a wider area of applications emerged during the last decade. We first give a short review of the theory of indirect sampling, show that estimators from indirect samples might have smaller variance than the corresponding direct estimators (contrary to some claims in the literature), summarize recent applications and discuss some issues that are relevant for applying indirect sampling in practice. We also present some theory for unbiased estimation after an additional subsampling stage that was necessary for sampling kindergarten children in the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). KW - Bildungserhebung KW - Indirekte Auswahl KW - Stichprobenverfahren Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11943-016-0183-3 VL - 10 IS - 4 SP - 289 EP - 303 PB - Springer ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Erb, Wolfgang A1 - Weinmann, Andreas A1 - Ahlborg, Mandy A1 - Brandt, Christina A1 - Bringout, Gael A1 - Buzug, Thorsten M. A1 - Frikel, Jürgen A1 - Kaethner, C. A1 - Knopp, Tobias A1 - März, T. A1 - Moddel, Martin A1 - Storath, Martin A1 - Weber, A. T1 - Mathematical analysis of the 1D model and reconstruction schemes for magnetic particle imaging JF - Inverse Problems N2 - Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is a promising new in vivo medical imaging modality in which distributions of super-paramagnetic nanoparticles are tracked based on their response in an applied magnetic field. In this paper we provide a mathematical analysis of the modeled MPI operator in the univariate situation. We provide a Hilbert space setup, in which the MPI operator is decomposed into simple building blocks and in which these building blocks are analyzed with respect to their mathematical properties. In turn, we obtain an analysis of the MPI forward operator and, in particular, of its ill-posedness properties. We further get that the singular values of the MPI core operator decrease exponentially. We complement our analytic results by some numerical studies which, in particular, suggest a rapid decay of the singular values of the MPI operator. KW - FORMULATION KW - ill-posedness KW - INTERPOLATION KW - inverse problems KW - magnetic particle imaging KW - model-based reconstruction KW - MPI KW - NODES KW - reconstruction operator KW - RELAXATION KW - RESOLUTION Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6420/aab8d1 VL - 34 IS - 5 PB - IOP Publishing ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dobler, Barbara A1 - Maier, Johannes A1 - Knott, Bernadette A1 - Maerz, Manuel A1 - Löschel, Rainer A1 - Kölbl, Oliver T1 - Second Cancer Risk after simultaneous integrated boost radiation therapy of right sided breast cancer with and without flattening filter JF - Strahlentherapie und Onkologie N2 - Background The aim of this study was to investigate if the flattening filter free mode (FFF) of a linear accelerator reduces the excess absolute risk (EAR) for second cancer as compared to the flat beam mode (FF) in simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) radiation therapy of right-sided breast cancer. Patients and methods Six plans were generated treating the whole breast to 50.4 Gy and a SIB volume to 63 Gy on CT data of 10 patients: intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and a tangential arc VMAT (tVMAT), each with flattening filter and without. The EAR was calculated for the contralateral breast and the lungs from dose-volume histograms (DVH) based on the linear-exponential, the plateau, and the full mechanistic dose-response model. Peripheral low-dose measurements were performed to compare the EAR in more distant regions as the thyroids and the uterus. Results FFF reduces the EAR significantly in the contralateral and peripheral organs for tVMAT and in the peripheral organs for VMAT. No reduction was found for IMRT. The lowest EAR for the contralateral breast and lung was achieved with tVMAT FFF, reducing the EAR by 25 % and 29 % as compared to tVMAT FF, and by 44 % to 58 % as compared to VMAT and IMRT in both irradiation modes. tVMAT FFF showed also the lowest peripheral dose corresponding to the lowest EAR in the thyroids and the uterus. Conclusion The use of FFF mode allows reducing the EAR significantly when tVMAT is used as the treatment technique. When second cancer risk is a major concern, tVMAT FFF is considered the preferred treatment option in SIB irradiation of right-sided breast cancer. T2 - Sekundärmalignom-Risiko nach simultan integrierter Boost-Bestrahlung des rechtsseitigen Mamma-Karzinoms mit und ohne Ausgleichskörper KW - 3D-CRT KW - Breast Cancer KW - CONTRALATERAL BREAST KW - DOSES RELEVANT KW - flattening filter free KW - HODGKIN COHORTS KW - IMRT KW - INDUCTION KW - JAPANESE A-BOMB KW - Peripheral Dose KW - PREDICTED RISK KW - Radiotherapy KW - Second Cancer Risk KW - VMAT Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00066-016-1025-5 VL - 192 IS - 10 SP - 687 EP - 695 PB - Springer Nature CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maier, Johannes A1 - Knott, Bernadette A1 - März, Manuel A1 - Löschel, Rainer A1 - Kölbl, Oliver A1 - Dobler, Barbara T1 - Simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) radiation therapy of right sided breast cancer with and without flattening filter - A treatment planning study JF - Radiation oncology N2 - Background: The aim of the study was to compare the two irradiation modes with (FF) and without flattening filter (FFF) for three different treatment techniques for simultaneous integrated boost radiation therapy of patients with right sided breast cancer. Methods: An Elekta Synergy linac with Agility collimating device is used to simulate the treatment of 10 patients. Six plans were generated in Monaco 5.0 for each patient treating the whole breast and a simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) volume: intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and a tangential arc VMAT (tVMAT), each with and without flattening filter. Plan quality was assessed considering target coverage, sparing of the contralateral breast, the lungs, the heart and the normal tissue. All plans were verified by a 2D-ionisation-chamber-array and delivery times were measured and compared. The Wilcoxon test was used for statistical analysis with a significance level of 0.05. Results: Significantly best target coverage and homogeneity was achieved using VMAT FFF with V95% = (98.7 +/- 0.8) % and HI = (8.2 +/- 0.9) % for the SIB and V95% = (98.3 +/- 0.7) % for the PTV, whereas tVMAT showed significantly lowest doses to the contralateral organs at risk with a D-mean of (0.7 +/- 0.1) Gy for the contralateral lung, (1.0 +/- 0.2) Gy for the contralateral breast and (1.4 +/- 0.2) Gy for the heart. All plans passed the gamma evaluation with a mean passing rate of (99.2 +/- 0.8) %. Delivery times were significantly reduced for VMAT and tVMAT but increased for IMRT, when FFF was used. Lowest delivery times were observed for tVMAT FFF with (1:20 +/- 0:07) min. Conclusion: Balancing target coverage, OAR sparing and delivery time, VMAT FFF and tVMAT FFF are considered the preferable of the investigated treatment options in simultaneous integrated boost irradiation of right sided breast cancer for the combination of an Elekta Synergy linac with Agility and the treatment planning system Monaco 5.0. KW - 3D-CRT KW - CONSERVING THERAPY KW - FIELD KW - IMRT KW - Radiotherapy KW - VMAT Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13014-016-0687-6 VL - 11 PB - BMC, Part of Springer Nature ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Saßmannshausen, Sean Patrick A1 - Volkmann, Christine T1 - The Scientometrics of Social Entrepreneurship and Its Establishment as an Academic Field JF - Journal of small business management N2 - This paper provides an overview of the state of art of research on social entrepreneurship and the establishment of this topic in the academic world, It uses scientometric methods in measuring the maturity of social entrepreneurship research. The empirical part reveals the exponentially growing number of papers, the institutionalization of social entrepreneurship in seven dimensions the emergence of thematic clusters, and methodological issues. The paper makes concrete suggestions on how to overcome methodological challenges. Furthermore, we provide a ranking of the 22 most cited academic contributions in social entrepreneurship. Surprisingly, almost half of the most cited papers have not been published in journals but in books, raising doubts about the current (over-)rating of journal publications. KW - COCITATION KW - ENTERPRISE KW - IMPACT KW - INDEX KW - ISSUES KW - KNOWLEDGE Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jsbm.12254 VL - 56 IS - 2 SP - 251 EP - 273 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kummerlin, Jana A1 - Fabro, Hannah Katharina A1 - Pedersen, Peter Heide A1 - Jensen, Kenneth Krogh A1 - Pedersen, Dennis A1 - Andersen, Michael Skipper T1 - Measuring Knee Joint Laxity in Three Degrees-of-Freedom In Vivo Using a Robotics- and Image-Based Technology JF - Journal of Biomechanical Engineering N2 - Accurate and reliable information about three-dimensional (3D) knee joint laxity can prevent misdiagnosis and avoid incorrect treatments. Nevertheless, knee laxity assessments presented in the literature suffer from significant drawbacks such as soft tissue artifacts, restricting the knee within the measurement, and the absence of quantitative knee ligament property information. In this study, we demonstrated the applicability of a novel methodology for measuring 3D knee laxity, combining robotics- and image-based technology. As such technology has never been applied to healthy living subjects, the aims of this study were to develop novel technology to measure 3D knee laxity in vivo and to provide proof-of-concept 3D knee laxity measurements. To measure tibiofemoral movements, four healthy subjects were placed on a custom-built arthrometer located inside a low dose biplanar X-ray system with an approximately 60 deg knee flexion angle. Anteroposterior and mediolateral translation as well as internal and external rotation loads were subsequently applied to the unconstrained leg, which was placed inside a pneumatic cast boot. Bone contours were segmented in the obtained X-rays, to which subject-specific bone geometries from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were registered. Afterward, tibiofemoral poses were computed. Measurements of primary and secondary laxity revealed considerable interpersonal differences. The method differs from those available by the ability to accurately track secondary laxity of the unrestricted knee and to apply coupled forces in multiple planes. Our methodology can provide reliable information for academic knee ligament research as well as for clinical diagnostics in the future. KW - ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT KW - COMPLEX KW - COORDINATE SYSTEM KW - INJURY KW - INSTABILITY KW - MOTION KW - OSTEOARTHRITIS KW - QUANTIFICATION KW - STIFFNESS Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4053792 SN - 1528-8951 VL - 144 IS - 8 PB - The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Merk, Josef A1 - Schlotz, Wolff A1 - Falter, Thomas T1 - The Motivational Value Systems Questionnaire (MVSQ): Psychometric Analysis Using a Forced Choice Thurstonian IRT Model JF - Frontiers in Psychology N2 - This study presents a new measure of value systems, the Motivational Value Systems Questionnaire (MVSQ), which is based on a theory of value systems by psychologist Clare W. Graves. The purpose of the instrument is to help people identify their personal hierarchies of value systems and thus become more aware of what motivates and demotivates them in work-related contexts. The MVSQ is a forced-choice (FC) measure, making it quicker to complete and more difficult to intentionally distort, but also more difficult to assess its psychometric properties due to ipsativity of FC data compared to rating scales. To overcome limitations of ipsative data, a Thurstonian IRT (TIRT) model was fitted to the questionnaire data, based on a broad sample of N = 1,217 professionals and students. Comparison of normative (IRT) scale scores and ipsative scores suggested that MVSQ IRT scores are largely freed from restrictions due to ipsativity and thus allow interindividual comparison of scale scores. Empirical reliability was estimated using a sample-based simulation approach which showed acceptable and good estimates and, on average, slightly higher test-retest reliabilities. Further, validation studies provided evidence on both construct validity and criterion-related validity. Scale score correlations and associations of scores with both age and gender were largely in line with theoretically - and empirically-based expectations, and results of a multitrait-multimethod analysis supports convergent and discriminant construct validity. Criterion validity was assessed by examining the relation of value system preferences to departmental affiliation which revealed significant relations in line with prior hypothesizing. These findings demonstrate the good psychometric properties of the MVSQ and support its application in the assessment of value systems in work-related contexts. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01626 VL - 8 IS - 1626 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Strech, Daniel A1 - Follmann, Markus A1 - Klemperer, David A1 - Lelgemann, Monika A1 - Ollenschläger, Günter A1 - Raspe, Heiner A1 - Nothacker, Monika T1 - When Choosing Wisely meets clinical practice guidelines JF - Zeitschrift für Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualität im Gesundheitswesen : ZEFQ = The journal of evidence and quality in health care N2 - The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation launched the Choosing Wisely campaign in 2012 and until today convinced more than 50 US specialist societies to develop lists of interventions that may not improve people’s health but are potentially harmful. We suggest combining these new efforts with the already existing efforts in clinical practice guideline development. Existing clinical practice guidelines facilitate a more participatory and evidence-based approach to the development of top 5 lists. In return, adding top 5 lists (for overuse and underuse) to existing clinical practice guidelines nicely addresses a neglected dimension to clinical practice guideline development, namely explicit information on which Do or Don’t do recommendations are frequently disregarded in practice. T2 - Wenn "Choosing Wisely" auf Leitlinien trifft Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zefq.2014.10.014 SN - 1865-9217 SN - 2212-0289 VL - 108 IS - 10 SP - 601 EP - 603 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt, Ulf A1 - Penzkofer, Rainer A1 - Bachmaier, Samuel A1 - Augat, Peter T1 - Implant Material and Design Alter Construct Stiffness in Distal Femur Locking Plate Fixation: A Pilot Study JF - Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research® N2 - BACKGROUND: Construct stiffness affects healing of bones fixed with locking plates. However, variable construct stiffness reported in the literature may be attributable to differing test configurations and direct comparisons may clarify these differences. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We therefore asked whether different distal femur locking plate systems and constructs will lead to different (1) axial and rotational stiffness and (2) fatigue under cyclic loading. METHODS: We investigated four plate systems for distal femur fixation (AxSOS, LCP, PERI-LOC, POLYAX) of differing designs and materials using bone substitutes in a distal femur fracture model (OTA/AO 33-A3). We created six constructs of each of the four plating systems. Stiffness under static and cyclic loading and fatigue under cyclic loading were measured. RESULTS: Mean construct stiffness under axial loading was highest for AxSOS (100.8 N/mm) followed by PERI-LOC (80.8 N/mm) and LCP (62.6 N/mm). POLYAX construct stiffness testing showed the lowest stiffness (51.7 N/mm) with 50% stiffness of AxSOS construct testing. Mean construct stiffness under torsional loading was similar in the group of AxSOS and PERI-LOC (3.40 Nm/degree versus 3.15 Nm/degree) and in the group of LCP and POLYAX (2.63 Nm/degree versus 2.56 Nm/degree). The fourth load level of > 75,000 cycles was reached by three of six AxSOS, three of six POLYAX, and two of six PERI-LOC constructs. All others including all LCP constructs failed earlier. CONCLUSIONS: Implant design and material of new-generation distal femur locking plate systems leads to a wide range of differences in construct stiffness. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Assuming construct stiffness affects fracture healing, these data may influence surgical decision-making in choosing an implant system. Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-013-2867-0 VL - 471 IS - 9 SP - 2808 EP - 2814 PB - The Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rudolph, Clarissa T1 - Old wine in new wineskins? BT - Labour market reforms in Germany and its impact on women JF - AG About Gender : International Journal of gender studies N2 - In the mid 2000s, a fundamental labour market reform has been carried out in Germany. The so-called Hartz-reforms were supposed to implement the paradigms of “activation” and “individual responsibility”. It was also discussed, whether in this context the “adult worker model” and more gender equality in the labour market should and could be achieved. This article clarifies the reforms ambivalent impact on women: there is a stronger but only partial labour market inclusion predominantly into the low-wage sector. Women´s responsibility in private care remains unchanged. Besides, in both fields, gender equality is not only a matter of quantity but also of quality. In other words, it is not about work inclusion at any cost, but rather the circumstances for female employment must be critically analyzed. The labour market reforms have so far done little to oppose the gender specific structures of the labour market. KW - Gender Equality KW - Labour Market Reforms, KW - Gender Models KW - Low Wage Sector Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.15167/2279-5057/ag.2013.2.4.84 SN - 2279-5057 VL - 2 IS - 4 SP - 76 EP - 94 PB - Genova University Press ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cichy, Ireneusz A1 - Kruszwicka, Agnieszka A1 - Palus, Patrycja A1 - Przybyla, Tomasz A1 - Schliermann, Rainer A1 - Wawrzyniak, Sara A1 - Klichowski, Michal A1 - Rokita, Andrzej T1 - Physical Education with Eduball Stimulates Non-Native Language Learning in Primary School Students JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health) N2 - Although the neuronal mechanisms of action and cognition are related, the division of intellectual and physical lessons is standard in schools. This is surprising, because numerous studies show that integrating physical education (PE) with teaching content stimulates critical skills. For example, several experiments indicate that Eduball-based PE (i.e., lessons in a sports hall during which students play team mini-games with educational balls with printed letters, numbers, and other signs) develops mathematical and language competencies. At the same time, the Eduball method does not slow down learners' physical development. However, we have little knowledge about the effects of such techniques on non-native language learning. Consequently, the absence of incorporating core academic subjects into PE in dual-language schools or during foreign language education is exceptionally high. Here, we replicated the Eduball experiment, but with the goal of testing this method for non-native language learning. Thus, the intervention occurred in a dual-language primary school and we evaluated second language (L2) learning. As before, we used the technique of parallel groups (experimental and control); in both groups, there were three 45-min PE classes per week. In the experimental class, two of them were held using Eduball. After a half-year experiment, children from the experimental group (one second-grade, N = 14) improved their non-native language skills significantly more than their peers from the control group (one second-grade, N = 12). These findings demonstrate that Eduball-type intervention stimulates non-native language learning in children. Hence, our report suggests that specific body training forms can support L2 learning. KW - Child KW - Humans KW - Language KW - Learning KW - Physical Education and Training KW - Schools KW - Students Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19138192 VL - 19 IS - 13 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schliermann, Rainer A1 - Stolz, Isabel A1 - Anneken, Volker T1 - The sports background, personality, attitudes, and social competencies of coaches and assistant coaches in the ‘Just Soccer’ program for pupils with intellectual disabilities JF - Human Movement N2 - The purpose of this study was to empirically analyze the sports background, personality dimensions, attitudes, and social competencies of adult head coaches and young assistant coaches involved in the German Einfach Fußball ( Just Soccer) program, which promotes the participation of pupils with intellectual disabilities in soccer/sports and society. Methods. The study recruited 28 head coaches and 29 assistant coaches who completed a questionnaire battery of standardized instruments (NEO Five-Factor Inventory, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Social Self-Efficacy) as well as self-developed instruments. Analysis of the data involved descriptive and inferential statistical procedures. A descriptive comparison of the assistant coaches with a normative sample of males aged 16–20 years was performed. Results. The head coaches were found with little soccer/sports experience with persons with disabilities prior to participation in the Just Soccer program. However, the majority were familiar with these persons through personal/vocational contacts. Overall, the head coaches were differentiated by formal coaching levels and playing backgrounds, with very few holding any additional formal qualifications in special education. The assistant coaches pre sented below average scores in the analyzed five personality dimensions when compared with the normative sample. Their attitudes and social competencies did not change during their 8-month involvement in Just Soccer . Conclusions. The findings highlight the important role of the coaching staff in the success of the Just Soccerprogram. coaches involved in such activities should be familiarized with needs of people with disabilities, be stress-resistant, and possess a balanced set of personality traits. In addition, the results suggest that such individuals should be coaches/players from conventional soccer clubs instead of special school physical education teachers. KW - participation KW - inclusion KW - soccer KW - disabilities KW - personality KW - attitudes Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1515/humo-2015-0009 SN - 1732-3991 VL - 15 IS - 3 SP - 177 EP - 185 PB - Versita CY - Warsaw ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schliermann, Rainer A1 - Heydenreich, Patrick A1 - Bungter, Tanja A1 - Anneken, Volker T1 - Health-related quality of life in working-age adults with visual impairments in Germany JF - Disability & Rehabilitation N2 - Purpose The purpose of this study was to gather data about physical activity and quality of life (QoL) for people of working age with visual impairments to optimize upcoming physical activity-based interventions in vocational rehabilitation. Methods Two hundred and seventy-seven former participants of four vocational rehabilitation centres in Germany answered an online questionnaire. The health-related QOL has been assessed by means of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. The data were analysed via multivariate analysis of covariances (MANCOVAs), univariate analysis of covariances (ANCOVAs) and discriminant function analysis. Results Compared to a normative group of adults aged 36-45, the study group showed lower values in all domains of QOL. The MANCOVA (visual acuity) produced no multivariate significant effect. Also, the ANCOVA showed no significant effect for the global dimension of the WHOQOL-BREF. The MANCOVA (leisure time activity) produced a multivariate significant effect. Post-hoc ANCOVAS revealed significant effects for all four domains of QoL. The ANCOVA analysing the global domain showed a similar significant effect as well. The active persons had higher values in all domains of QoL compared to the more passive participants. Conclusion Interventions in vocational rehabilitation should focus on leisure time activity to enhance QoL. At this stage, the role of physical activity is still unclear and further studies are needed. Implications for rehabilitation People with visual impairments often show a worse quality of life than normal-sighted people. The degree of severity of the visual impairment does not affect quality of life. Sport and physical activity are effective means of improving quality of life. An active leisure time activity supports the improvement of the quality of life of visual-impaired people that participated in a vocational rehabilitation. KW - Employment status KW - Germany KW - ICF KW - job satisfaction KW - leisure activity KW - physical activity KW - vocational rehabilitation Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3109/09638288.2016.1146353 SN - 0963-8288 VL - 39 IS - 5 SP - 428 EP - 437 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Högele, Wolfgang A1 - Dobler, Barbara A1 - Kölbl, Oliver A1 - Beard, Clair A1 - Zygmanski, Piotr A1 - Löschel, Rainer T1 - Stochastic triangulation for prostate positioning during radiotherapy using short CBCT arcs JF - Radiotherapy and Oncology N2 - Background and purpose: Fast and reliable tumor localization is an important part of today's radiotherapy utilizing new delivery techniques. This proof-of-principle study demonstrates the use of a method called herein 'stochastic triangulation' for this purpose. Stochastic triangulation uses very short imaging arcs and a few projections. Materials and methods: A stochastic Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) estimator is proposed based on an uncertainty-driven model of the acquisition geometry and inter-/intra-fractional deformable anatomy. The application of this method was designed to use the available linac-mounted cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and/or electronic portal imaging devices (EPID) for the patient setup based on short imaging arcs. For the proof-of-principle clinical demonstration, the MAP estimator was applied to 5 CBCT scans of a prostate cancer patient with 2 implanted gold markers. Estimation was performed for several (18) very short imaging arcs of 5° with 10 projections resulting in 90 estimations. Results: Short-arc stochastic triangulation led to residual radial errors compared to manual inspection with a mean value of 1.4mm and a standard deviation of 0.9 mm (median 1.2mm, maximum 3.8mm) averaged over imaging directions all around the patient. Furthermore, abrupt intra-fractional motion of up to 10mm resulted in radial errors with a mean value of 1.8mm and a standard deviation of 1.1mm (median 1.5mm, maximum 5.6mm). Slow periodic intra-fractional motions in the range of 12 mm resulted in radial errors with a mean value of 1.8mm and a standard deviation of 1.1mm (median 1.6mm, maximum 4.7 mm). Conclusion: Based on this study, the proposed stochastic method is fast, robust and can be used for inter- as well as intra-fractional target localization using current CBCT units. KW - Patient positioning KW - Setup error KW - Maximum A Posteriori estimation KW - Short arc KW - Stochastic triangulation Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2013.01.005 VL - 106 IS - 2 SP - 241 EP - 249 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Högele, Wolfgang A1 - Löschel, Rainer A1 - Dobler, Barbara A1 - Kölbl, Oliver A1 - Zygmanski, Piotr T1 - Bayesian estimation applied to stochastic localization with constraints due to interfaces and boundaries JF - Mathematical Problems in Engineering N2 - Purpose We present a systematic Bayesian formulation of the stochastic localization/triangulation problem close to constraining interfaces. Methods For this purpose, the terminology of Bayesian estimation is summarized suitably for applied researchers including the presentation of Maximum Likelihood (ML), Maximum A Posteriori (MAP), and Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) estimation. Explicit estimators for triangulation are presented for the linear 2D parallel beam and the nonlinear 3D cone beam model. The priors in MAP and MMSE optionally incorporate (A) the hard constraints about the interface and (B) knowledge about the probability of the object with respect to the interface. All presented estimators are compared in several simulation studies for live acquisition scenarios with 10,000 samples each. Results First, the presented application shows that MAP and MMSE perform considerably better, leading to lower Root Mean Square Errors (RMSEs) in the simulation studies compared to the ML approach by typically introducing a bias. Second, utilizing priors including (A) and (B) is very beneficial compared to just including (A). Third, typically MMSE leads to better results than MAP, by the cost of significantly higher computational effort. Conclusion Depending on the specific application and prior knowledge, MAP and MMSE estimators strongly increase the estimation accuracy for localization close to interfaces. Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/960421 SN - 1563-5147 VL - 213 PB - HIndawi ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Joseph, Saskia A1 - Schumm, Michael A1 - Rummel, Otmar A1 - Soska, Alexander A1 - Renschke, Michael A1 - Mottok, Jürgen A1 - Niemetz, Michael A1 - Schroll-Decker, Irmgard T1 - Teaching finite state machines with case method and role play JF - 2014 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON 2014) : Istanbul, Turkey, 3 - 5 April 2014 N2 - The professional requirements in Software Engineering have become highly volatile due to the complexities of project development and rapid and innovative changes occurring in the field. Therefore, the development of inter-personal and social competences has gained central importance in the training of software developers. This paper will present a concept allowing to acquire competences by using Case Method and Role Play as instruments in several lectures of Software Engineering. By approaching the issue of competence acquisition on a technical as well as on an educational and social level, life-long learning is facilitated and supported. KW - Case Method KW - competences KW - learning arrangement KW - life-long learning KW - Role Play Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/EduCon.2013.6530275 SP - 1302 EP - 1305 PB - IEEE ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Fuhrmann, Thomas T1 - Course Preparation Time Optimization System for Improved Didactic Outcome T2 - 2022 20th International Conference on Information Technology Based Higher Education and Training (ITHET), 07-09 November 2022, Antalya, Turkey N2 - Due to the various demands for lecturers, there is only a limited time to prepare lectures and lab courses. Therefore, it is necessary to invest the time target-oriented for optimal student learning success. A theoretic model is developed to structure course preparation work regarding scientific content, didactic preparation, and course presentation. Model parameters have to be chosen for each course depending on topic complexity, the lecturer’s prior knowledge, and the already available preparation from the prior semesters. With these parameters, a course preparation model for a complete semester is developed. Analytic models for different optimization strategies are introduced according to the overall goal of the lecturer. Numerical optimization is done to find the appropriate course preparation times to reach an optimal course preparation for high student learning success. It is seen that due to the different optimization strategies, the preparation time results vary and no single truth is given. But this optimization system gives hints on how to invest preparation time target-oriented for high student learning success. KW - Higher education KW - Engineering education KW - Course preparation KW - Curriculum development KW - Optimization Y1 - 2022 SN - 978-1-6654-8908-9 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/ITHET56107.2022.10031642 PB - IEEE ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heine, Norbert A1 - Eigenberger, Andreas A1 - Brebant, Vanessa A1 - Kempa, Sally A1 - Seitz, Stephan A1 - Prantl, Lukas A1 - Kuehlmann, Britta T1 - The effect of radiotherapy on fat engraftment for complete breast reconstruction using lipofilling only JF - Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics N2 - Purpose Lipofilling has been established as a standard technique for contour enhancement following breast reconstruction. However, there is a paucity in current literature regarding the use of this technique for complete reconstruction of the female breast as an alternative to conventional techniques, such as expander or flap-based procedures. In particular, the influence of pre-operative irradiation for successful reconstruction has rarely been examined in published studies. Here, the authors describe their experience with successful fat injection in pre-radiated breasts in comparison with non-pre-radiated patients. Methods In this retrospective study, we examined a total of 95 lipofilling treatments on 26 patients (28 breasts). All of them experienced mastectomy following breast cancer; local breast defects after partial resection of the gland were not included in this study. In total, 47 lipofilling procedures in 12 non-irradiated patients (14 breasts) and 48 procedures in 14 irradiated women (also 14 breasts) were performed. Per session, approximately 297 +/- 112 cc of adipose tissue was grafted in group A (no radiotherapy) and approximately 259 +/- 93 cc was grafted in group B (radiotherapy). Results Among the group of women without pre-operative radiation, 71% of breast reconstructions limited to lipofilling only showed constant engraftment of fat tissue with a successful reconstructive result, whereas only 21% of the patients with pre-radiated breasts showed complete reconstruction of the breast with a permanent fat in-growth. Conclusion Preoperative radiotherapy significantly impedes successful completion of breast reconstructions planned only by autologous fat transfer. Patients should be selected individually and carefully for complete breast reconstruction using lipofilling only. KW - Breast augmentation KW - Breast cancer KW - CANCER KW - Fat graft KW - Lipofilling KW - OUTCOMES KW - PLATELET-RICH PLASMA KW - RADIATION-THERAPY KW - Radiotherapy KW - RECIPIENT-SITE KW - Reconstruction Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-022-06610-4 PB - Springer ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maerz, Manuel A1 - Treutwein, Marius A1 - Nabo, Jan A1 - Dobler, Barbara T1 - Three-dimensional printers applied for the production of beam blocks in total body irradiation treatment JF - Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics N2 - Purpose: Total body irradiation (TBI) in extended source surface distance (SSD) is a common treatment technique before hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The lungs are organs at risk, which often are treated with a lower dose than the whole body. Methods: This can be achieved by the application of blocks. Three-dimensional (3D) printers are a modern tool to be used in the production process of these blocks. Results: We demonstrate the applicability of a specific printer and printing material, describe the process, and evaluate the accuracy of the product. Conclusion: The blocks and apertures were found to be applicable in clinical routine. KW - 3D printer KW - electron beam apertures KW - photon beam blocks KW - Radiotherapy KW - STEM-CELL TRANSPLANTATION KW - TBI KW - total body irradiation Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/acm2.13592 VL - 23 IS - 5 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rösl, Gerhard A1 - Seitz, Franz T1 - Cash demand in times of crisis JF - Journal of Payments Strategy and Systems N2 - This paper focuses on the role of specific types of crisis (technological crisis, financial market crisis, natural disaster) and their effects on the demand for cash in an international context. As evidence from the last 30 years shows, demand for cash increases during periods of crisis, regardless of the nature of the crisis. The nature of the crisis does, however, determine whether small or large banknote denominations are affected more. This study finds that times of payment uncertainties are associated with increased demand for small denominations, probably reflecting an elevated demand for transaction balances. By contrast, in times of financial crisis or general economic uncertainty, the increased demand for cash is largely the result of consumers taking precautionary actions and building up non-transaction balances; for this reason, there is greater demand for large banknote denominations. This study finds that cash continues to play an important role in crisis management. Whether this function can also be fulfilled by a future central bank digital currency, however, remains to be seen. Y1 - 2022 UR - https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/hsp/jpss/2022/00000016/00000002/art00002 SN - 1750-1814 VL - 16 IS - 2 SP - 107 EP - 119 PB - Ingenta CY - Oxford ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Schaeffer, Leon A1 - Herrmann, David A1 - Böhm, Valter T1 - Concept of a wrist Hand Orthosis based on a prestressed compliant structure T2 - Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Applications (ICBEA), Hangzhou, China, 21-23 April 2023 N2 - In the treatment of hand injuries in the context of orthopedic care, movable wrist hand orthoses are used in numerous instances. Early motion therapy is in most cases advantageous for adequate, rapid and successful long-term healing of the hand. Conventional dynamic wrist hand orthoses can only be used for movement therapy to a limited extent since they represent the wrist as a simple rotating joint and neglect the complexity of the hand movement possibilities. In this paper, a preliminary concept for dynamic wrist hand orthoses based on prestressed compliant structures is presented. The distinctive feature of this concept lies in the enabling of multiaxial motion capabilities of the human hand without applying conventional joints. According to the concept the wrist region is surrounded by a prestressed compliant structure. Besides the derivation and description of the concept, a first three-dimensional computer-aided design is shown. Additionally, the necessary steps in the development of such a novel dynamic wrist orthosis are discussed. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/ICBEA58866.2023.00024 SP - 98 EP - 103 PB - IEEE ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sommoggy, Julia A1 - Grepmeier, Eva-Maria A1 - Apfelbacher, Christian A1 - Brandstetter, Susanne A1 - Curbach, Janina T1 - Pediatricians’ experiences of managing outpatient care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study in Germany JF - Frontiers in Pediatrics N2 - Background: Pediatricians are important sources of information for parents regarding their children's health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, pediatricians faced a variety of challenges regarding information uptake and transfer to patients, practice organization and consultations for families. This qualitative study aimed at shedding light on German pediatricians’ experiences of providing outpatient care during the first year of the pandemic. Methods: We conducted 19 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with pediatricians in Germany from July 2020 to February 2021. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, pseudonymized, coded, and subjected to content analysis. Results: Pediatricians felt able to keep up to date regarding COVID-19 regulations. However, staying informed was time consuming and onerous. Informing the patients was perceived as strenuous, especially when political decisions had not been officially communicated to pediatricians or if the recommendations were not supported by the professional judgment of the interviewees. Some felt that they were not taken seriously or adequately involved in political decisions. Parents were reported to consider pediatric practices as sources of information also for non-medical inquiries. Answering these questions was time consuming for the practice personnel and involved non-billable hours. Practices had to adapt their set-up and organization immediately to the new circumstances of the pandemic, which proved costly and laborious as well. Some changes in the organization of routine care, such as the separation of appointments for patients with acute infection from preventive appointments, were perceived as positive and effective by some study participants. Telephone and online consultations were established at the beginning of the pandemic and considered helpful for some situations, whereas for others these methods were deemed insufficient (e.g. for examinations of sick children). All pediatricians reported reduced utilization mainly due to a decline in acute infections. However, preventive medical check-ups and immunization appointments were reported to be mostly attended. Conclusion: Positive experiences of reorganizing pediatric practice should be disseminated as “best practices” in order to improve future pediatric health services. Further research could show how some of these positive experiences in reorganizing care during the pandemic are to be maintained by pediatricians in the future. KW - COVID-19 KW - pediatric care KW - outpatient care KW - content analysis KW - pandemic Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2023.1127238 VL - 11 PB - frontiers ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stadler, Sebastian A1 - Cornet, Henriette A1 - Frenkler, Fritz T1 - Assessing Heuristic Evaluation in Immersive Virtual Reality: A Case Study on Future Guidance Systems JF - Multimodal Technologies and Interaction N2 - A variety of evaluation methods for user interfaces (UI) exist such as usability testing, cognitive walkthrough, and heuristic evaluation. However, UIs such as guidance systems at transit hubs must be evaluated in their intended application field to allow the effective and valid identification of usability flaws. However, what if evaluations are not feasible in real environments, or laboratorial conditions cannot be ensured? Based on adapted heuristics, in the present study, the method of heuristic evaluation is combined with immersive Virtual Reality (VR) for the identification of usability flaws of dynamic guidance systems (DGS) at transit hubs. The study involved usability evaluations of nine DGS concepts using the newly proposed method. The results show that compared to computer-based heuristic evaluations, the use of immersive VR led to the identification of an increased amount of “severe” usability flaws as well as overall usability flaws. Within a qualitative assessment, immersive VR is validated as a suitable tool for conducting heuristic evaluations involving significant advantages such as the creation of realistic experiences in laboratorial conditions. Future work seeks to further prove the suitability of using immersive VR for heuristic evaluations and compare the proposed method to other evaluative methods. KW - virtual reality KW - heuristic evaluation KW - human-computer interaction KW - user interfaces KW - guidance system Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/mti7020019 SN - 2414-4088 VL - 7 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Himmelein, Susanne A1 - Perez Ruiz de Garibay, Aritz A1 - Brandel, Veronika A1 - Zierfuß, Frank A1 - Bingold, Tobias Michael T1 - The ADVanced Organ Support (ADVOS) hemodialysis system removes IL-6: an in vitro proof-of-concept study JF - Intensive care medicine experimental N2 - BACKGROUND IL-6 is a pleiotropic cytokine modulating inflammation and metabolic pathways. Its proinflammatory effect plays a significant role in organ failure pathogenesis, commonly elevated in systemic inflammatory conditions. Extracorporeal blood purification devices, such as the Advanced Organ Support (ADVOS) multi hemodialysis system, might offer potential in mitigating IL-6's detrimental effects, yet its efficacy remains unreported. METHODS We conducted a proof-of-concept in vitro study to assess the ADVOS multi system's efficacy in eliminating IL-6. Varying concentrations of IL-6 were introduced into a swine blood model and treated with ADVOS multi for up to 12 h, employing different blood and concentrate flow rates. IL-6 reduction rate, clearance, and dynamics in blood and dialysate were analyzed. RESULTS IL-6 clearance rates of 0.70 L/h and 0.42 L/h were observed in 4 and 12-h experiments, respectively. No significant differences were noted across different initial concentrations. Reduction rates ranged between 40 and 46% within the first 4 h, increasing up to 72% over 12 h, with minimal impact from flow rate variations. Our findings suggest that an IL-6-albumin interaction and convective filtration are implicated in in vitro IL-6 elimination with ADVOS multi. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates for the first time an efficient and continuous in vitro removal of IL-6 by ADVOS multi at low blood flow rates. Initial concentration-dependent removal transitions to more consistent elimination over time. Further clinical investigations are imperative for comprehensive data acquisition. KW - Extracorporeal blood purification KW - Albumin dialysis KW - Multiple organ failure, KW - Advanced organ support KW - IL-6 KW - Cytokines Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40635-024-00652-5 SN - 2197-425X VL - 12 IS - 1 PB - SpringerOpen CY - Berlin ; Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Uhrhan, Katja A1 - Schwindt, Esther A1 - Witte, Hartmut T1 - Fabrication and Dielectric Validation of an Arm Phantom for Electromyostimulation JF - Bioengineering N2 - Electromyostimulation (EMS) is an up-and-coming training method that demands further fundamental research regarding its safety and efficacy. To investigate the influence of different stimulation parameters, electrode positions and electrode sizes on the resulting voltage in the tissue, a tissue mimicking phantom is needed. Therefore, this study describes the fabrication of a hydrogel arm phantom for EMS applications with the tissue layers of skin, fat, blood and muscle. The phantom was dielectrically validated in the frequency range of 20 Hz to 100 Hz. We also conducted electromyography (EMG) recordings during EMS on the phantom and compared them with the same measurements on a human arm. The phantom reproduces the dielectric properties of the tissues with deviations ranging from 0.8% to more than 100%. Although we found it difficult to find a compromise between mimicking the permittivity and electrical conductivity at the same time, the EMS-EMG measurements showed similar waveforms (1.9-9.5% deviation) in the phantom and human. Our research contributes to the field of dielectric tissue phantoms, as it proposes a multilayer arm phantom for EMS applications. Consequently, the phantom can be used for initial EMS investigations, but future research should focus on further improving the dielectric properties. KW - tissue phantom KW - electromyostimulation KW - electrical muscle stimulation KW - dielectric validation KW - electromyography Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering11070724 SN - 2306-5354 VL - 11 IS - 7 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hassmann, Tobias A1 - Westner, Markus T1 - A Framework for Rigorous Execution and Presentation of Expert Interviews in IS and Digital Transformation Research T2 - Advances in Information Systems Development: Exploring New Horizons and Opportunities N2 - This article addresses the inconsistent conceptualization of expert interviews in information systems (IS) research by providing a structured framework for their rigorous execution and presentation. Through a thematic analysis of 28 method-relevant papers, key characteristics and good practices for executing expert interviews are identified. Additionally, 39 highly cited IS studies were reviewed to examine expert interview utilization in IS research and to identify good practices for presenting expert interview outcomes, which are further validated on nine digital transformation (DT) studies. Our findings highlight the adaptability and varied applications of expert interviews in IS research and offer recommendations to strengthen rigor in their preparation, execution, and presentation of outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are provided to guide a more systematic and rigorous use of expert interviews in IS research. Y1 - 2025 SN - 9783031878794 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-87880-0_4 SN - 2195-4968 SP - 63 EP - 86 PB - Springer Nature CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hille, Julia A1 - Brandstetter, Manuela A1 - Schulze, Mandy A1 - Keller, Samuel T1 - Rural areas and social work: Reflection on research in German-speaking countries JF - International Social Work N2 - Demographic change, securing social services, dealing with migration and agreeing to democratic participation are particularly rural challenges in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Although social work is responsible for all these issues, there is a lack of a differentiated view. What exactly are rural areas? Who are the relevant actors in and for social work? As the social contexts are very different, research must differentiate and take into account the cultural and historical contexts of regional challenges. This article aims to strengthen the research perspective on rural areas and demonstrate their relevance in the discourse on social work. KW - Intergenerationality, rural areas, social capital, social work, space KW - rural areas KW - social capital KW - social work KW - space Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-80748 SN - 1461-7234 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - Sage ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bartsch, Alexander A1 - Beham, Daniela A1 - Gebhardt, Jakob A1 - Ehrlich, Ingo A1 - Schratzenstaller, Thomas A1 - Monkman, Gareth J. T1 - Mechanical Properties of NdPrFeB Based Magnetoactive Bisphenol-Free Boron-Silicate Polymers JF - Journal of Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology N2 - Following a ban on many materials containing bisphenol-A, new bisphenol-free Boron silicates have been found as substitutes. The purpose of this study is to describe the mechanical properties of these bisphenol-free magnetoactive borosilicate polymers containing hard magnetic particles. Samples of 0%, 33% and 66% by wt. were loaded for compression using a universal testing machine. The maximum forces occurring for different travel speeds were compared before and after post-magnetization treatments. The post-magnetization included 2 stages. In addition, the change in mechanical properties within 24 hours after the post-magnetization process was investigated. Furthermore, the influence of speed and particle content were investigated. In general, there is a correlation between the required compressive force and, the level of post-magnetization stress, the increase in travel speed and particle content in the boron silicate. Comparison of the non-post-magnetized and post-magnetized samples using two-tailed t-tests shows that the p-values for all weight fraction changes in NdPrFeB particles and travel speeds are less than 0.001. Also, a comparison between tests in which the traverse speed was varied also showed significant changes in the resulting compression forces. The same is valid for changes in the weight ratio of the NdPrFeB particles in the samples. For post-magnetized samples, no significant difference can be observed in the first 24 hours following magnetization. In summary, the material presents viscoelastic, plastic force-displacement behavior, which can be well recognized by its bi-linear curve shape. The investigation shows that borosilicate polymers based on NdPrFeB can have their mechanical behavior modified and controlled by post-magnetization processes. This opens new possibilities for many future applications. Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-67425 UR - https://www.walshmedicalmedia.com/open-access/mechanical-properties-of-ndprfeb-based-magnetoactive-bisphenolfree-boronsilicate-polymers-124385.html SN - 2157-7439 N1 - Corresponding author: Alexander Bartsch VL - 14 IS - 6 PB - Walsh Medical Media ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Schaeffer, Leon A1 - Herrmann, David A1 - Böhm, Valter T1 - Preliminary theoretical considerations of a hand orthosis based on a prestressed, compliant structure T2 - Proceedings of the 2023 International Symposium on Medical Robotics (ISMR), Atlanta, 19-21 April 2023 N2 - In the treatment of hand injuries in the context of orthopedic care, movable hand orthoses are used in many cases. Early motion therapy is in most cases advantageous for adequate, rapid, and successful long-term healing of the hand. Conventional mobile hand orthoses can only be used for movement therapy to a limited extent since they represent the wrist as a simple rotating joint and neglect the complexity of the movement possibilities of the hand. In this paper, a novel concept for movable hand orthoses based on prestressed compliant structures is presented. The advantage with this concept is that it replicates the multiaxial motion capabilities without the need for conventional joints. Besides the derivation and description of the concept, a first three-dimensional CAD design is shown. Additionally, the next planned steps in the development of such a novel dynamic hand orthosis are described. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/ISMR57123.2023.10130230 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - IEEE ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rösl, Gerhard A1 - Seitz, Franz T1 - Central Bank Digital Currency and Cash in the Euro Area: Current Developments and one Specific Proposal JF - Credit and Capital Markets – Kredit und Kapital N2 - The present paper provides an overview on current developments of cash usage and issue of central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the euro area and proposes a possible design of a digital euro that allows for instant offline payments. Cash usage at the point-of-sale decreased perceptibly in the past years mainly due to the ongoing trend towards digitalization. However, we show that there are also indications that consumers were somewhat pushed into cashless payments by government regulations and supply-side restrictions by commercial banks. Nonetheless, overall demand for euro cash remained strong and even increased relative to GDP since the financial crisis in 2008. In this process, however, we observe a supply-driven shift towards lower banknote denominations. Central banks all over the world are intensively thinking about the potential issue of ­CBDC as a substitute or complement to cash. Based on some of its preferred characteristics, we propose a double pre-paid scheme combining central elements of TARGET Instant Payment Settlement and electronic money features enabling offline and online instant payments. Since anonymity is categorically discarded by the ECB and as cash has some special advantages from a consumer perspective, the digital euro will rather co-circulate with cash than replace it in transactions. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3790/ccm.55.4.523 VL - 55 IS - 4 SP - 523 EP - 551 PB - Duncker & Humblot CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reich, Katrin A1 - Dalferth, Matthias T1 - From the Placement Paradigm to Sustainable Support of Companies in the Integration of People with High-Functioning Autism - Results of an Employer Survey JF - Die Rehabilitation: Zeitschrift für Praxis und Forschung in der Rehabilitation N2 - Im Rahmen des Projektes AUT-1A wurden 123 Arbeitgeber*innen mittels Fragebogen zu ihren Erfahrungen mit der Beschäftigung von autistischen Mitarbeiter*innen befragt. Ziel war es, die beschäftigungsfördernden und -hindernden Faktoren herauszuarbeiten. Die Studie deutet darauf hin, dass sich die berufliche Qualifizierung in den Berufsbildungswerken positiv auf die nachhaltige Beschäftigung von Menschen mit Autismus-Spektrum-Diagnose (ASD) auswirkt, die Unterstützungsleistungen für Betriebe aber noch nicht hinreichend sind. Auch konnte eine mangelnde Aufklärung in Bezug auf eine autismusfreundliche Umgebungsgestaltung sowie eine mangelnde Aufklärung über die Diagnose Autismus der direkten Kolleg*innen herausgearbeitet werden. KW - Autismus KW - ASS KW - Teilhabe am Arbeitsleben KW - Arbeitgeberbefragung Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1998-6630 SN - 0034-3536 PB - Thieme ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Markov-Glazer, Alon A1 - Elbe, Anne-Marie A1 - Schliermann, Rainer T1 - Sport psychology consultants’ views on mental training with elite Deaf sport athletes JF - International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology N2 - The elite sport movement for athletes with hearing impairments, namely Deaflympics, differs from the Paralympic and Olympic sport movements because it exhibits a variety of distinct sociocultural and organisational characteristics. Yet, mental training with Deaflympic athletes receives little to no attention from the scientific community. Little is known about sport psychology consultants’ (SPCs) work with Deaflympic athletes. In this study, we explored SPCs’ exposure to so called Deaf sport as well as their experiences, attitudes, and assumptions regarding the utility of psychological skills training (PST) with Deaflympic athletes. A self-constructed questionnaire with closed and semi-open questions was completed by 93 (58.8% female) SPCs in European German-speaking countries. Analyses revealed SPCs had limited exposure to Deaflympic sport but indicated readiness to work with Deaflympic athletes. SPCs shared no reasons as to why PST skills and techniques would not be effective with Deaflympic athletes. However, SPCs regarded communication challenges as a major obstacle. We conclude that the integration of elite Deaf sport in SPCs’ training programmes is vital, considering SPCs’ lack of exposure and experience with Deaflympic athletes as well as their communication insecurities. In addition, further empirical research on PST effectiveness in Deaflympics athletes should provide the foundation for evidence-based utility of applied sport psychology in Deaflympic sport. KW - Deaf culture KW - Deaflympics KW - psychological skills training Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2023.2245422 SN - 1557-251X N1 - This work was supported by the German Federal Institute of Sport Science (BISp) under Grant number [ZMVI4-070401/19-20]. AMG received a doctoral scholarship from the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF). SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Taylor & Francis ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Schaeffer, Leon A1 - Herrmann, David A1 - Böhm, Valter T1 - Theoretical considerations on a 2D compliant tensegrity joint in context of a biomedical application T2 - Engineering for a changing world : 60th ISC, Ilmenau Scientific Colloquium, Technische Universität Ilmenau, September 4-8, 2023 N2 - In this paper, a two-dimensional compliant tensegrity joint was investigated for potential biomedical applications such as orthotics or exoskeletons. The structure consists of two compressed members connected by five compliant tensioned members. The concept is based on the tensegrity principle, which allows the realization of dynamic orthoses without conventional hinge joints. Another advantage is the adaptability to the individual needs of the patient through a suitable design of the structure and the careful selection of the characteristics of the elements. Using geometric nonlinear analysis, the mechanical behavior of the structure was investigated, focusing on mechanical compliance. The main objective was to determine the influence of the initial length and stiffness of the tensioned members and the influence of the magnitude of external forces on the overall stiffness of the movable member of the structure. The results highlight the significant impact of member parameters on the structure's stiffness and movability under varying load magnitudes. The research laid the foundation for future development of dynamic orthoses based on this structure. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.22032/dbt.58879 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Technische Universität Ilmenau CY - Ilmenau ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Winkler, Fabian A1 - Westner, Markus T1 - A Systematic Literature Review of DevOps Success Factors and Adoption Models JF - SOICT '23: Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium on Information and Communication Technology. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 7-8 December 2023 N2 - This paper investigates DevOps adoption, emphasizing its cultural dimensions in the context of the information systems domain. Utilizing a robust systematic literature review methodology, we discerned nine salient success factors and delineated three stage models instrumental for a smooth transition into DevOps-centric projects. Despite the increasing breadth of research in the DevOps area, the absence of a consolidated definition remains a challenge, underscoring the importance of a unified interpretative framework. This research notably extends the current body of knowledge by focusing on the cultural dynamics of DevOps adoption. As a result, it offers a refined lens through which both practitioners involved in the adoption process and academic researchers can comprehend the nuances and implications of cultural shifts in the evolving landscape of DevOps within information systems. Y1 - 2023 SN - 979-8-4007-0891-6 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1145/3628797.3628883 SP - 525 EP - 532 PB - ACM ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Spiller, Ralf A1 - Degen, Matthias A1 - Kronewald, Elke A1 - Guertler, Katherine T1 - Media watchblogs as an instrument of media accountability: An international survey JF - Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies N2 - Media watchdog weblogs can play an important role in media accountability, provided that the bloggers are regularly active and have an appropriate awareness of their role in the media landscape. The following article examines the presence and influence of media watchblogs in selected nations, as well as the operators’ standards and perceptions of their roles. In semi-structured qualitative interviews, operators of watchblogs in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United Kingdom discussed their perceptions of their role, their ethical guidelines, their financing and any conflicts of interest, and their projections for the future. The interviews reveal that most media watchbloggers do not interpret their role to be a Fifth Estate with a mandate to monitor the mass media. The watchbloggers are reluctant to accept and uphold formal ethical and quality criteria, and limitations on time and money make them unable to guarantee ongoing critical media analysis. For these reasons, media watchblogs are determined to be a weak instrument of media accountability. KW - ethics KW - expert interviews KW - international comparative study KW - media accountability KW - role identity KW - watchblogs Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1386/ajms.5.2.151_1 SN - 2049-9531 VL - 5 IS - 2 SP - 151 EP - 176 PB - intellect ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kratzer, Simon A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Factors for Fractional CIO Engagement Success JF - Information & Management N2 - As small- to medium-sized enterprises struggle with IT management, an increasing number appoint Fractional CIOs, i.e., CIOs that work part-time for multiple organizations simultaneously. We use Q-methodology to empirically evaluate the relative importance of factors for Fractional CIO engagement success and find that trust, top management team support, and the Fractional CIO's integrity are most important. Further, we identify three groups of Fractional CIOs: Strategic IT Advisors, Full-ownership CIOs, and Change Agents. Our results guide organizations when hiring and working with Fractional CIOs and provide the basis for further research on Fractional CIO archetypes.As small- to medium-sized enterprises struggle with IT management, an increasing number appoint Fractional CIOs, i.e., CIOs that work part-time for multiple organizations simultaneously. We use Q-methodology to empirically evaluate the relative importance of factors for Fractional CIO engagement success and find that trust, top management team support, and the Fractional CIO's integrity are most important. Further, we identify three groups of Fractional CIOs: Strategic IT Advisors, Full-ownership CIOs, and Change Agents. Our results guide organizations when hiring and working with Fractional CIOs and provide the basis for further research on Fractional CIO archetypes. KW - Fractional CIO KW - Virtual CIO KW - SMEs KW - Small Businesses KW - Engagement Success KW - Q-Methodology Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2023.103793 SN - 0378-7206 VL - 60 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Fuhrmann, Thomas T1 - Semi-Structured Lab Projects in Communication Engineering Education T2 - 2023 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 01-04 May 2023, Kuwait N2 - It is generally known that project-based learning is a very important part of engineering education to connect theoretical knowledge with practical work. Students learn to apply their knowledge to real-world challenges as it is the case in their later professional life. If students are not used to project work or the scientific topic is new and relatively complex, they may be overwhelmed. The consequence is that students achieve poor results, are frustrated, and therefore learning success is low. Semi-structured projects are introduced that combine the advantages of structured experiments with projects. The project work is structured into several parts with detailed descriptions of the tasks. In the end, students get similar results to doing a free project, but the success rate is higher due to higher guidance. Therefore, these semi-structured projects are seen to be an appropriate method to guide students to learn how to do project work. The feedback from most students is very positive. Some students with no previous lab experience complained about the project work and wished for more guidance to become familiar with lab work. In sum, the student feedback is encouraging to develop semi-structured projects further. KW - Knowledge engineering KW - Task analysis KW - Communication engineering education Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON54358.2023.10125244 SP - 1 EP - 5 PB - IEEE ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Süzeroglu-Melchiors, Sevim A1 - Gassmann, Oliver A1 - Palmié, Maximilian T1 - Friend or foe? The effects of patent attorney use on filing strategy vis-a-vis the effects of firm experience JF - Management Decision N2 - PurposeIn the intellectual property (IP) and management literature, the question of how external patent attorneys impact patent filings has been understudied. The purpose of this paper is to advance this area of research by examining how the use of external patent attorneys influences the patent filing strategies of firms and what impact firms? level of experience with the exclusive use of in-house resources has on filing strategies. This study, thus, provides insights into the strategic dimension behind patent filing, a process which is affected by patent attorneys? work and decision-making processes.Design/methodology/approachThe econometric analysis is based on a patent database of 922,553 patents which is combined with an EPO patent database covering applications from 1990 to 2010. The authors test the hypotheses for this study using patent indicators addressing the impact of in-house firm experience vs the use of external patent attorneys on firm?s filing strategy.FindingsThis research finds empirical evidence that external patent attorneys? work has an effect on patent scope, international scope, and patenting speed. Moreover, it can be shown that external patent attorneys have a positive impact on most filing dimensions, such as patent scope, international scope and the Patent Cooperation Treaty option, whereas the level of in-house firm experience has a negative impact on most filing dimensions. This implies that external patent attorneys seem to pursue a ?maximization approach? while experienced firms seem to pursue a more differentiated approach to filing patents, for instance, drafting narrower and more focused patents.Practical implicationsThe study suggests that effective filing strategies require an integrated approach between diverse IP stakeholders. More particularly, filing strategies should be communicated and aligned between all actors, including external patent attorneys in order to achieve the targeted patenting output.Originality/valueThe current study develops a patent filing typology, which accounts for patent attorneys? decision options. In providing insights into patent attorneys? work and their impacts on intellectual property rights management, the study is a useful complement to prior research, which has predominantly focused on applicants or examiners. KW - Patents KW - Filing strategy KW - Intellectual property management KW - IP Intermediaries KW - Patent attorney KW - Patent strategies KW - Strategic IP mnanagement Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-01-2016-0047 SN - 0025-1747 VL - 55 IS - 6 SP - 1122 EP - 1142 PB - Emerald ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Süzeroğlu-Melchiors, Sevim T1 - The supply side of IP management: Understanding firms’ choices regarding IP intermediaries JF - World Patent Information N2 - Studies focusing on the supply side of IP management, particularly on the outsourcing of patent related work, are relatively rare. This paper aims to contribute to the IP literature in two ways. First, a definition of the IP service provider is proposed. Second, I consider three main hypotheses that determine a firm's preference for outsourced IP work. Using data on the outsourcing of patent renewal payments, I found evidence that the choice of IP supplier is affected by: (1) the firm's own IP maintenance capabilities, (2) the firm's IP knowledge utilization, and (3) the IP complexity. KW - Intellectual property (IP) management KW - IP intermediaries KW - IP suppliers KW - Patents Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wpi.2017.08.002 SN - 0172-2190 VL - 50 SP - 55 EP - 63 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Schaeffer, Leon A1 - Herrmann, David A1 - Böhm, Valter T1 - Preliminary considerations on the form-finding of a tensegrity joint to be used in dynamic orthoses T2 - 8th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Applications (ICBEA 2024), Tokio, 18-21. March 2024 Y1 - 2024 PB - ACM ET - accepted paper ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kratzer, Simon A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Traction with fraction: Strategic IS management in SMEs through Fractional CIOs JF - International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management N2 - Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increasingly need to manage nformation technology (IT) effectively in order to remain competitive. However, compared to larger organizations, SMEs often face challenges in terms of resources and employer attractiveness, and regularly do not have the need to employ a Chief Information Officer (CIO) on a full-time basis. To address this issue, a growing number of global experts have begun to provide CIO services on a part-time basis for multiple clients simultaneously. This approach allows SMEs to tap into the expertise of experienced IT leaders at a fraction of the cost and without committing to long-term arrangements. While these professionals, known as “Fractional CIOs”, have proven their value in the field, there has been a lack of academic research on this emerging trend. Therefore, we carried out a comprehensive research project between 2020 and 2023, involving 62 Fractional CIOs from 10 countries. The research produced a definition, different types of engagements, and success factors for Fractional CIOs and their engagements. This paper summarizes these findings for a wider audience of academics and practitioners. KW - Fractional CIO KW - Chief Information Officer KW - SMEs KW - small businesses Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.12821/ijispm120101 SN - 2182-7788 VL - 12 IS - 1 SP - 5 EP - 16 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Ali, Md. Wajed A1 - Ahmmed, Tanvir A1 - Al Emran, Md A1 - Roy, Dipon A1 - Refat, Kawsar Ahmed A1 - Khan, Robiul T1 - Driver Fatigue Detection using CWT-Extracted Features and a Deep Learning Approach (CNNLSTM) T2 - 2024 IEEE International Conference on Biomedical Engineering, Computer and Information Technology for Health (BECITHCON), 28-29 Nov. 2024, Dhaka, Bangladesh N2 - Driver fatigue is a leading reason behind traffic accidents globally, resulting in significant threats to public safety and substantial economic costs. Electroencephalography (EEG) has shown to be a critical tool for identifying driver fatigue as it can record brain activity associated with sleepiness, which gives it an advantage over other physiological modalities. Although raw EEG data can provide insightful information, accurate fatigue identification requires strong feature extraction techniques because of the inherent complexity of the data. This emphasizes how urgent it is to investigate revolutionary deep-learning architectures that can successfully extract discriminative features from raw EEG data. This study provides an innovative framework for driver fatigue identification from EEG that combines continuous wavelet transform (CWT) with convolutional neural networks (CNN) and long-short term memory (LSTM). In order to gain the advantage over the drawbacks of manual feature extraction, this study generates time-frequency spectrum representations of EEG data using the CWT. Following extracting information, each channel’s time-frequency images are concatenated and fed into a CNN-LSTM architecture. This combination models the temporal and spatial characteristics of the EEG data and automatically learns discriminative features for identifying drivers’ normal and fatigued states. A publicly available EEG dataset with recordings from twelve subjects is used to evaluate the proposed CWT-CNN-LSTM architecture. The result shows a prominent classification accuracy of 98.34% for both the average of each subject and combined subjects. These findings show how well the CNN-LSTM framework captures EEG patterns associated with fatigue, which may result in more reliable driver fatigue detection systems and improved traffic safety. KW - Accuracy KW - Brain modeling KW - CNN KW - Continuous wavelet transforms KW - Convolutional neural networks KW - CWT KW - Deep learning KW - Deep Learning (DL) KW - Driver Fatigue KW - EEG KW - Electroencephalography KW - Fatigue KW - Feature extraction KW - Long short term memory KW - LSTM KW - Time-frequency analysis Y1 - 2025 UR - https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10962632 SN - 979-8-3315-3435-6 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/BECITHCON64160.2024.10962632 SP - 77 EP - 82 PB - IEEE CY - Piscataway, NJ ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Förstl, Nikolas A1 - Süß, Franz A1 - Englert, Carsten A1 - Dendorfer, Sebastian T1 - Design of a reverse shoulder implant to measure shoulder stiffness during implant component positioning JF - Medical Engineering & Physics N2 - To avoid dislocation of the shoulder joint after reverse total shoulder arthroplasty, it is important to achieve sufficient shoulder stability when placing the implant components during surgery. One parameter for assessing shoulder stability can be shoulder stiffness. The aim of this research was to develop a temporary reverse shoulder implant prototype that would allow intraoperative measurement of shoulder stiffness while varying the position of the implant components. Joint angle and torque measurement techniques were developed to determine shoulder stiffness. Hall sensors were used to measure the joint angles by converting the magnetic flux densities into angles. The accuracy of the joint angle measurements was tested using a test bench. Torques were determined by using thin-film pressure sensors. Various mechanical mechanisms for variable positioning of the implant components were integrated into the prototype. The results of the joint angle measurements showed measurement errors of less than 5° in a deflection range of ±15° adduction/abduction combined with ±45° flexion/extension. The proposed design provides a first approach for intra-operative assessment of shoulder stiffness. The findings can be used as a technological basis for further developments. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2023.104059 N1 - Corresponding author: Sebstian Dendorfer VL - 121 PB - Elsevier ET - Journal Pre-proof ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weilhammer, Theresa A1 - Warren, Hunter S. A1 - Bliznyuk, Valery A1 - Kutsevol, Nataliya A1 - Booth, Brian W. T1 - Analysis of Photodynamic Therapeutic Treatment of HER2-Positive Breast Cancer In Vitro JF - BioNanoScience N2 - Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimally invasive cancer treatment method. The antitumor effect of PDT mediated by the photosensitizer meta-tetra(hydroxyphenyl)chlorin (m-THPC) was studied in vitro on HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer cells. Since the application of m-THPC is limited due to poor tumor targeting abilities, the polymer carrier dextran-grafted-polyacrylamide (D-g-PAA) with attached gold nanoparticles was loaded with m-THPC to provide a light-responsive, tumor targeting nanocomposite. The nanocomposite was absorbed by the cancer cells within 90 min and activated through irradiation with red light at a wavelength of 660 nm. In this study, the efficiency and ideal dose of the nanocomposite were evaluated and determined based on cell viability and induction of apoptosis of HER2+ breast cancer cells and human breast epithelial cells. We demonstrate that the nanocomposite exhibited phototoxicity with cell mortality exceeding 50% for the HER2+ breast cancer cells. In contrast, the human breast epithelial cells were minimally affected at the same concentration of the nanocomposite, demonstrating the tumor-targeting abilities of the developed nanocomposite. Dark toxicity was also comparably lower, indicating the limited effect of the unactivated nanocomposite. The results revealed that apoptosis was the primary mode of cell death in HER2+ breast cancer cells. Apoptotic cell death was induced in HER2+ breast cancer cells via the caspase-3, caspase-9, and Bax pathways. In conclusion, the studied nanocomposite demonstrated excellent PDT performance with good antitumor activity under light irradiation in vitro and is worthy of further investigation as an alternative treatment for HER2+ breast cancer. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12668-025-01940-4 VL - 15 PB - Springer ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Förstl, Nikolas A1 - Adler, Ina A1 - Süß, Franz A1 - Dendorfer, Sebastian T1 - Technologies for Evaluation of Pelvic Floor Functionality: A Systematic Review JF - Sensors N2 - Pelvic floor dysfunction is a common problem in women and has a negative impact on their quality of life. The aim of this review was to provide a general overview of the current state of technology used to assess pelvic floor functionality. It also provides literature research of the physiological and anatomical factors that correlate with pelvic floor health. This systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. The PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, and IEEE databases were searched for publications on sensor technology for the assessment of pelvic floor functionality. Anatomical and physiological parameters were identified through a manual search. In the systematic review, 114 publications were included. Twelve different sensor technologies were identified. Information on the obtained parameters, sensor position, test activities, and subject characteristics was prepared in tabular form from each publication. A total of 16 anatomical and physiological parameters influencing pelvic floor health were identified in 17 published studies and ranked for their statistical significance. Taken together, this review could serve as a basis for the development of novel sensors which could allow for quantifiable prevention and diagnosis, as well as particularized documentation of rehabilitation processes related to pelvic floor dysfunctions. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/s24124001 N1 - Die Preprint-Version ist ebenfalls in diesem Repositorium verzeichnet unter: https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-oth-regensburg/frontdoor/index/index/docId/7306 VL - 24 IS - 12 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Leonhardt, Carina A1 - Guertler, Katherine T1 - Unearthing Corporate Greenwashing: A Content Analysis of Sustainability Reporting in the Mining Sector JF - Tripodos N2 - Greenwashing is a common form of corporate disinformation that is often challenging for the general public to detect. Companies engage in greenwashing in their reporting to mislead shareholders and stakeholders about their environmental efforts, seeking to enhance legitimacy and gain competitive advantages. While systems for identifying greenwashing exist, they typically focus on advertising, leaving greenwashing in corporate reports underexamined. This study aims to address this gap by conducting a qualitative content analysis of a climate report from a mining and commodity trading company, considering the company’s profile, the report’s target audience, and current research. The findings reveal that the company employs numerous subtle greenwashing strategies to project a more sustainable image through strategic omissions, hedging and vague long-term goals. Moreover, this research broadens the scope of greenwashing analysis to include corporate reporting, which targets a more informed audience, such as shareholders and experts, rather than the general public. The results underscore the need for stricter regulation of sustainability reports and highlight the importance of fostering greater scrutiny among shareholders. KW - climate communication KW - corporate communication KW - greenwashing KW - sustainability reporting Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.51698/tripodos.2025.57.06 SN - 1138-3305 VL - 2025 IS - 57 SP - 78 EP - 97 PB - Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations CY - Barcelona ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Melzner, Maximilian A1 - Ismail, Khaled M. A1 - Rušavy, Zdenek A1 - Kališ, Vladimír A1 - Süß, Franz A1 - Dendorfer, Sebastian T1 - Musculoskeletal lower back load of accoucheurs during childbirth – A pilot and feasibility study JF - European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology N2 - Introduction: Back problems represent one of the leading causes of accouchers' work-related musculoskeletal morbidities. The correct execution of birth-related maneuvers including manual perineal protection is crucial not only for the mother and child but also for obstetricians and midwives to reduce any strain on their musculoskeletal system. Therefore, the overall aim of this study was to test the feasibility of determining the effect of different accouchers' postures (standing and kneeling) on their musculoskeletal system. Methods: The biomechanical analysis is based on musculoskeletal simulations that included motion recordings of real deliveries as well as deliveries conducted on a birthing simulator. These simulations were then used to determine individual joints' loads. Results: In the kneeling posture, both a low intra-operator variability and a lower average maximum load of the lower back was observed. For the standing position the spine load was reduced by pivoting the elbow on the accouchers' thigh, which in turn was associated with a significantly greater load on the shoulder joint. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the feasibility of our technique to assess joints loads. It also provided initial data indicating that a posture that reduces spinal flexion and tilt, achieved in this study by the kneeling, can significantly reduce the strain on the practitioner's musculoskeletal system. KW - lower back load KW - Accoucheur KW - Musculoskeletal simulation Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejogrb.2021.07.042 IS - 264 SP - 306 EP - 313 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rusavy, Zdenek A1 - Cechova, Hana A1 - Dendorfer, Sebastian A1 - Kalis, Vladimir A1 - Ismail, Khaled M. T1 - Is the Finnish grip tight enough? A manometric study of two manual perineal protection techniques JF - Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.15033 VL - 104 IS - 2 SP - 423 EP - 425 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Käss, Sebastian A1 - Strahringer, Susanne A1 - Westner, Markus T1 - A Multiple Mini Case Study on the Adoption of Low Code Development Platforms in Work Systems JF - IEEE Access N2 - Although adopting Low Code Development Platforms (LCDPs) promises significant efficiency and effectiveness improvements for application development, its adoption still needs further empirical research. This paper uses a combinatorial approach to research LCDP adoption and presents the results of a multiple mini case study with 36 cases on LCDP adoption. A combination of the Socio-Technical Systems theory and the Technology-Organisational-Environment model is used as a theoretical lens. In this paper, we show that LCDP adoption is a multifaceted phenomenon and identify three archetypes for LCDP adoption (i.e., IT Resource Shortage Mitigators, Application Development Democratisers, and Synergy Realisers) and one archetype for LCDP non-adoption (i.e., Intricacy Adversaries). Each archetype can be interpreted as an individual path towards LCDP (non-)adoption. Based on these archetypes, we derive seven starting points for practitioners to adopt LCDPs in work systems. Moreover, by using the theoretical lenses, the paper shows that for an LCDP adoption to occur, an optimisation of the social and technical sub-systems is required. KW - Low Code Development Platform KW - Adoption KW - Case study Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-65634 SN - 2169-3536 N1 - Corresponding author: Markus Westner SP - 118762 EP - 118786 PB - IEEE ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Knoedler, Samuel A1 - Schliermann, Rainer A1 - Knödler, Leonard A1 - Wu, Mengfan A1 - Hansen, Frederik J. A1 - Matar, Dany Y. A1 - Obed, Doha A1 - Vervoort, Dominique A1 - Haug, Valentin A1 - Hundeshagen, Gabriel A1 - Paik, Angie A1 - Kauke-Navarro, Martin A1 - Kneser, Ulrich A1 - Pomahac, Bohdan A1 - Orgill, Dennis P. A1 - Panayi, Adriana C. T1 - Impact of sarcopenia on outcomes in surgical patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis JF - International journal of surgery N2 - BACKGROUND Surgeons have historically used age as a preoperative predictor of postoperative outcomes. Sarcopenia, the loss of skeletal muscle mass due to disease or biological age, has been proposed as a more accurate risk predictor. The prognostic value of sarcopenia assessment in surgical patients remains poorly understood. Therefore, we aimed to synthesize the available literature and investigate the impact of sarcopenia on peri- and postoperative outcomes across all surgical specialties. METHODS We systematically assessed the prognostic value of sarcopenia on postoperative outcomes by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, searching the PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE databases from inception to 1st October 2022. Our primary outcomes were complication occurrence, mortality, length of operation and hospital stay, discharge to home, and postdischarge survival rate at one, three, and five years. Subgroup analysis was performed by stratifying complications according to the Clavien-Dindo classification system. Sensitivity analysis was performed by focusing on studies with an oncological, cardiovascular, emergency, or transplant surgery population, and on those of higher quality or prospective study design. RESULTS A total of 294 studies comprising 97,643 patients, of which 33,070 had sarcopenia, were included in our analysis. Sarcopenia was associated with significantly poorer postoperative outcomes including greater mortality, complication occurrence, length of hospital stay, and lower rates of discharge to home (all P<0.00001). A significantly lower survival rate in patients with sarcopenia was noted at one, three, and five years (all P<0.00001) after surgery. Subgroup analysis confirmed higher rates of complications and mortality in oncological (both P<0.00001), cardiovascular (both P<0.00001), and emergency (P=0.03 and P=0.04, respectively) patients with sarcopenia. In the transplant surgery cohort, mortality was significantly higher in patients with sarcopenia (P<0.00001). Among all patients undergoing surgery for inflammatory bowel disease, the frequency of complications was significantly increased among sarcopenic patients (P=0.007). Sensitivity analysis based on higher-quality studies and prospective studies showed that sarcopenia remained a significant predictor of mortality and complication occurrence (all P<0.00001). CONCLUSION Sarcopenia is a significant predictor of poorer outcomes in surgical patients. Preoperative assessment of sarcopenia can help surgeons to identify patients at risk, critically balance eligibility, and refine perioperative management. Large-scale studies are required to further validate the importance of sarcopenia as a prognostic indicator of perioperative risk, especially in surgical sub-specialties. KW - Sarcopenia KW - Aging KW - Muscle Loss KW - Muscle KW - Surgical Outcomes KW - Surgery Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1097/JS9.0000000000000688 PB - Wolters Kluwer ET - accepted ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Morag, Sarah A1 - Kieninger, Martin A1 - Eissnert, Christoph A1 - Auer, Simon A1 - Dendorfer, Sebastian A1 - Popp, Daniel A1 - Hoffmann, Johannes A1 - Kieninger, Bärbel T1 - Comparison of different techniques for prehospital cervical spine immobilization: Biomechanical measurements with a wireless motion capture system JF - PLOS ONE Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292300 VL - 18 IS - 11 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - PLOS CY - San Francisco, California ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Borg, Leise A1 - Jørgensen, Jakob Sauer A1 - Frikel, Jürgen A1 - Sporring, Jon T1 - Reduction of variable-truncation artifacts from beam occlusion during in situ x-ray tomography JF - Measurement Science and Technology N2 - Many in situ x-ray tomography studies require experimental rigs which may partially occlude the beam and cause parts of the projection data to be missing. In a study of fluid flow in porous chalk using a percolation cell with four metal bars drastic streak artifacts arise in the filtered backprojection (FBP) reconstruction at certain orientations. Projections with non-trivial variable truncation caused by the metal bars are the source of these variable-truncation artifacts. To understand the artifacts a mathematical model of variable-truncation data as a function of metal bar radius and distance to sample is derived and verified numerically and with experimental data. The model accurately describes the arising variable-truncation artifacts across simulated variations of the experimental setup. Three variable-truncation artifact-reduction methods are proposed, all aimed at addressing sinogram discontinuities that are shown to be the source of the streaks. The 'reduction to limited angle' (RLA) method simply keeps only non-truncated projections; the 'detector-directed smoothing' (DDS) method smooths the discontinuities; while the 'reflexive boundary condition' (RBC) method enforces a zero derivative at the discontinuities. Experimental results using both simulated and real data show that the proposed methods effectively reduce variable- truncation artifacts. The RBC method is found to provide the best artifact reduction and preservation of image features using both visual and quantitative assessment. The analysis and artifact-reduction methods are designed in context of FBP reconstruction motivated by computational efficiency practical for large, real synchrotron data. While a specific variable- truncation case is considered, the proposed methods can be applied to general data cut-offs arising in different in situ x-ray tomography experiments. KW - computed tomography KW - COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY KW - CT KW - filtered backprojection KW - IMAGE-RECONSTRUCTION KW - in situ measurements KW - sinogram discontinuities KW - variable-truncation artifacts Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6501/aa8c27 VL - 28 IS - 12 PB - IOP Publishing ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Giordano, Katharina A1 - Lauer, Norina A1 - Leusch, Vera A1 - Kreiter, Daniel A1 - Corsten, Sabine T1 - Tablet-based biography work in long-term care homes to support quality of life and prevent depression JF - Educational Gerontology N2 - Older adults in long-term care homes are at high risk of experiencing reduced quality of life (QoL) and depression. Technology-assisted biography work can have a positive impact on QoL and mood, but there is little research on its use with this target group. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of tablet-based biography work conducted by volunteers on the QoL of residents and volunteers. A pretest-posttest control group design with an intervention period of 3 months and a 3-month follow-up was used. Results show a significant increase in participation for volunteers and residents after the intervention, which is stable for residents until follow-up. Volunteers also show significant improvement in mental QoL immediately after the intervention. There were no significant effects for life satisfaction, self-esteem, or depression. No significant changes were found for the control group. Digitally conducted tablet-based biography work appears to have effects on QoL-associated outcomes. KW - Biografieforschung KW - Senioren KW - Tablet PC KW - biography work KW - long-term care KW - tablet support Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2023.2225362 SN - 1521-0472 SN - 0360-1277 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Taylor and Francis CY - London ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Koenig, Eric A1 - Guertler, Katherine A1 - Żarnowska, Dorota A1 - Horbačauskienė, Jolita T1 - Developing English language competence for global engineers T2 - 2020 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON): 27-30 April 2020, Porto, Portugal N2 - English language skills are essential to professional communication in international engineering environments. Given the concomitant degree of specialization, university-level coursework in English for Specific Purposes is an essential component of engineering student preparation. This large-scale survey of university students of engineering in three European countries provides important insight into the most relevant language skills, with the goal of informing communicative, task-based curricula for Technical English courses. KW - English as a foreign language KW - English for engineers KW - English for specific purposes KW - professional communication KW - technical English Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON45650.2020.9125208 SP - 242 EP - 249 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Nothacker, Monika A1 - Schaefer, Corinna A1 - Gogol, Manfred A1 - Klemperer, David A1 - Lynen-Jansen, Petra A1 - Kopp, Ina T1 - Gemeinsam Klug Entscheiden – Initiative der AWMF und ihrer Fachgesellschaften – ein Werkstattberich T2 - Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie N2 - Gemeinsam Klug Entscheiden ist eine Initiative der AWMF und ihrer Fachgesellschaften, mit dem Ziel, Empfehlungen zu Versorgungsaspek- ten in die Versorgung zu bringen, für die ein großes Verbesserungspoten- tial besteht. Der Impuls dafür wurde durch die TOP-5-Listen der Choosing Wisely Kampagne gegeben. Ziel des Posters ist es das Vorgehen und die Methodik für eine evidenzbasierte Entwicklung bekannt zu machen und zu diskutieren im Hinblick auf Machbarkeit und Verbesserungspotential. Y1 - 2017 VL - 50 IS - Suppl 1 SP - S9 PB - Springer Nature ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weber, Karsten A1 - Krug, Henriette A1 - Haug, Sonja A1 - Kühn, Andrea A. A1 - Scharf, Anna T1 - External Observations and Subjective Experiences: Metaphors Used by DBS Patients JF - AJOB Neuroscience Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/21507740.2023.2246219 VL - 14 IS - 3 SP - 323 EP - 325 PB - Taylor&Francis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maurer, Julia A1 - Saibold, Anna A1 - Gerl, Katharina A1 - Koller, Michael A1 - Kölbl, Oliver A1 - Pukrop, Tobias A1 - Windschuettl, Sandra A1 - Einhell, Sabine A1 - Herrmann-Johns, Anne A1 - Raptis, Georgios A1 - Mueller, Karolina T1 - Systematic development of a patient-reported ONCOlogical-ROUTinE-Screening (ONCO-ROUTES) procedure at the University Cancer Center Regensburg JF - Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology N2 - Purpose The evaluation of treatment success and progression in oncology patient-reported outcomes (PROs) is playing an increasingly important role. Meanwhile, PROs are a component of the certification requirements of the German Cancer Society for oncology centers. PROs are used to provide supportive therapy. There is currently no instrument that fully covers the requirements. At the University Hospital Regensburg (UKR), a digital ONCOlogical-ROUTinE-Screening (ONCO-ROUTES) procedure was developed in order to assess the need for supportive therapy in a standardized way and to provide patients with supportive interventions tailored to their needs. Methods On the basis of current requirements and guidelines, the development of ONCO-ROUTES was supported by experts in focus groups and interviews, and digitalization was carried out in connection with the IT infrastructure. Results A Needs-based, Quality-of-life (QoL) and Symptoms Screening (NQS2) tool already established in the routine at the UKR was further developed into ONCO-ROUTES, which is made up of the domains therapy phase, nutrition, tobacco use, alcohol use, quality of life, general condition/functional status, physical activity, psychooncology, social services, and further support needs. By linking the digitized questionnaire to the hospital information system, the results are available for immediate use in routine operations and thus for the referral of patients for further supportive therapy. Conclusion The digital PRO application ONCO-ROUTES is designed to involve patients in monitoring additional supportive needs and thus, improves supportive interdisciplinary treatment. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-024-05955-4 SN - 1432-1335 VL - 150 IS - 9 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kurfess, Christina A1 - Corsten, Sabine A1 - Nickel, Maren A1 - Kreiter, Daniel A1 - Lauer, Norina T1 - Improving health-related quality of life for people with aphasia through peer support using the digital network PeerPAL JF - Aphasiology N2 - Background: Aphasia is often associated with psychosocial changes that may affect health-related quality of life, risk of depression or social participation. One possible intervention to address these psychosocial changes is peer contact. However, this often requires professional support (e.g. supervised support groups), whereas a digital option may allow for autonomous, asynchronous peer contact. Therefore, we developed an app adapted to the specific needs of people with aphasia to stimulate digital and analogue interactions. Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate a tailored app for people with aphasia that can be used to establish peer contact and enable digital and analogue interactions. The impact of using the app on health-related quality of life, social participation and depression prevention was analysed. Methods & Procedures: The study design was a pre-post wait-list-controlled comparison in which half of the participants (n = 18) waited three months before starting the intervention, and the other half of the participants (n = 18) started the intervention immediately. During the intervention, the app was used by all participants (n = 36) for three months after a training session, followed by three months of optional app use until follow-up. Health-related quality of life (SAQOL39g, GHQ-12), communicative participation (CPIB), social support (F-SozU), depression markers (GDS, DISCs), and activity in the app were recorded at each time point. Analyses were mainly non-parametric to calculate changes during the intervention and to compare the intervention with the waiting period. The study is registered in the German Register of Clinical Trials (DRKS00023855). Outcomes & Results: SAQOL-39g data improved significantly for the whole group during the intervention period (z = -3.043, p = 0.002, r = -0.598), but not during the waiting period (z = 0.402, p = 0.705). Scores remained stable until follow-up, and there was no worsening of depression markers over the entire period. No linear correlation was found between the improvement in SAQOL-39g and activity in the app (p = 0.329, r = 0.167). Conclusions: People with aphasia were able to use the app and showed an intervention-specific effect on health-related quality of life. The amount of activity in the app seems to be less critical for changes. Other factors, such as feeling connected to peers, appear to be relevant. Future studies should explore who might benefit most from the app. KW - Aphasie KW - Partizipation KW - Lebensqualität KW - Inklusion KW - aphasia KW - digital inclusion KW - digital network KW - peer support KW - health-related quality of life Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2025.2505641 SP - 1 EP - 24 PB - Taylor & Francis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dendorfer, Sebastian A1 - Maier, Hans Jürgen A1 - Hammer, Joachim T1 - Fatigue damage in cancellous bone: an experimental approach from continuum to micro scale JF - Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials N2 - Repeated loadings may cause fatigue fractures in bony structures. Even if these failure types are known, data for trabecular bone exposed to cyclic loading are still insufficient as the majority of fatigue analyses on bone concentrate on cortical structures. Despite its highly anisotropic and inhomogeneous structure, trabecular bone is treated with continuum approaches in fatigue analyses. The underlying deformation and damage mechanism within trabecular specimens are not yet sufficiently investigated. In the present study different types of trabecular bone were loaded in monotonic and cyclic compression. In addition to the measurement of integral specimen deformations, optical deformation analysis was employed in order to obtain strain distributions at different scale levels, from the specimens' surface to the trabeculae level. These measurements allowed for the possibility of linking the macroscopic and microscopic mechanical behaviour of cancellous bone. Deformations were found to be highly inhomogeneous across the specimen. Furthermore strains were found to already localise at very low load levels and after few load cycles. Microcracks in individual trabeculae were induced in the very early stage of cyclic testing. The results provide evidence of the capability of the method to supply essential data on the failure behaviour of individual trabeculae in future studies. KW - Knochen KW - Spongiosa KW - Ermüdungsbruch KW - Fatigue KW - Cancellous bone KW - Deformation behaviour KW - Damage KW - Measurement and testing KW - Mechanical behaviour Y1 - 2009 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmbbm.2008.03.003 VL - 2 IS - 1 SP - 113 EP - 119 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hölscher, Thomas A1 - Weber, Tim A. A1 - Lazarev, Igor A. A1 - Englert, Carsten A1 - Dendorfer, Sebastian T1 - The influence of rotator cuff tears on glenohumeral stability during abduction tasks JF - Journal of Orthopaedic Research N2 - One of the main goals in reconstructing rotator cuff tears is the restoration of glenohumeral joint stability, which is subsequently of utmost importance in order to prevent degenerative damage such as superior labral anterior posterior (SLAP) lesion, arthrosis, and malfunction. The goal of the current study was to facilitate musculoskeletal models in order to estimate glenohumeral instability introduced by muscle weakness due to cuff lesions. Inverse dynamics simulations were used to compute joint reaction forces for several static abduction tasks with different muscle weakness. Results were compared with the existing literature in order to ensure the model validity. Further arm positions taken from activities of daily living, requiring the rotator cuff muscles were modeled and their contribution to joint kinetics computed. Weakness of the superior rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus; infraspinatus) leads to a deviation of the joint reaction force to the cranial dorsal rim of the glenoid. Massive rotator cuff defects showed higher potential for glenohumeral instability in contrast to single muscle ruptures. The teres minor muscle seems to substitute lost joint torque during several simulated muscle tears to maintain joint stability. Joint instability increases with cuff tear size. Weakness of the upper part of the rotator cuff leads to a joint reaction force closer to the upper glenoid rim. This indicates the comorbidity of cuff tears with SLAP lesions. The teres minor is crucial for maintaining joint stability in case of massive cuff defects and should be uprated in clinical decision-making. KW - Abduction tasks KW - Glenohumeral stability KW - Musculoskeletal Modeling KW - Muscle weakness KW - Rotator cuff tears KW - Rotatorenmanschettenriss KW - Schultergelenk KW - Stabilität Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.23161 VL - 34 IS - 9 SP - 1628 EP - 1635 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lindert, Jutta A1 - Wehrwein, Annette A1 - Klemperer, David A1 - Walter, U. T1 - Public health education in health-related study programs in Germany: Perspectives from course coordinators JF - Gesundheitswesen N2 - Hintergrund Inhalte von Public Health werden in Deutschland in gesundheitsbezogenen Studiengängen an Hochschulen und Universitäten gelehrt. Ziel dieser Studie war es, Daten zur Lehre und zur Kooperation von Lehrenden von Public Health in gesundheitsbezogenen Studiengängen in Deutschland zur Verfügung zu stellen. Methode Eine Querschnittsuntersuchung wurde online-basiert vom 01.06. bis 15.09.2015 an 93 Hochschulen/Universitäten in Deutschland mit 351 Studiengangsverantwortlichen aus gesundheitsbezogenen Studiengängen durchgeführt. Einbezogen wurden Public Health Studiengänge und gesundheitsbezogene Studiengänge, deren Hochschulen bzw. Universitäten entweder Mitglied in der "Deutschen Gesellschaft für Sozialmedizin und Prävention" (DGSMP) oder in der Gesellschaft "Hochschulen für Gesundheit" (HOGE) sind. Teilgenommen an dieser Studie haben N=104 Studiengangsverantwortliche (43% Männer, 57% Frauen). In Public Health Studiengängen wurden „Global Health" und "Umwelt und Gesundheit" als Studieninhalte häufiger als in gesundheitsbezogenen Studiengängen benannt; in gesundheitsbezogenen Studiengängen wurden häufiger "Ethik" und "Gesundheitspsychologie" als Lehrinhalte benannt. Finanzielle Unterstützungen durch die Hochschulen/ Universitäten sowie strukturierte Partnerschaften zwischen Hochschulen und/ oder Universitäten werden von Lehrenden an Hochschulen (36%) und an Universitäten (40%) gewünscht. Lehrende an Hochschulen wünschen darüber hinaus Promotionspartnerschaften. Schlussfolgerung Bisher gibt es in Deutschland keine einheitlichen fachlichen Qualitätskriterien für Absolvierende von Public Health bzw. gesundheitsbezogenen Studiengängen. Zudem gibt es nach Aussage der Studiengangsverantwortlichen dieser Studiengänge wenig Kooperation zwischen Lehrenden der Public Health bzw. der gesundheitsbezogenen Studiengänge. T2 - Lehre von Public Health in gesundheitsbezogenen Studiengängen in Deutschland: die Sicht von Studiengangsverantwortlichen KW - public hearlth KW - gesundheitsbezogene Studiengänge KW - Lehre Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-116940 VL - 81 SP - 599 EP - 605 PB - Thieme ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lingel, Maximilian P. A1 - Haus, Moritz A1 - Paschke, Lukas A1 - Foltan, Maik A1 - Lubnow, Matthias A1 - Gruber, Michael A1 - Krenkel, Lars A1 - Lehle, Karla T1 - Clinical relevance of cell-free DNA during venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation JF - Artificial organs N2 - BACKGROUND: Thrombosis remains a critical complication during venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO). The involvement of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in thrombogenesis has to be discussed. The aim was to verify NETs in the form of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in the plasma of patients during ECMO. METHODS: A fluorescent DNA-binding dye (QuantifFluor®, Promega) was used to detect cell-free DNA in plasma samples. cfDNA concentrations from volunteers (n = 21) and patients (n = 9) were compared and correlated with clinical/technical data before/during support, ECMO end and time of a system exchange. RESULTS: Before ECMO, patients with a median (IQR) age of 59 (51/63) years, SOFA score of 11 (10/15), and ECMO run time of 9.0 (7.0/19.5) days presented significantly higher levels of cfDNA compared to volunteers (6.4 (5.8/7.9) ng/μL vs. 5.9 (5.4/6.3) ng/μL; p = 0.044). Within 2 days after ECMO start, cfDNA, inflammatory, and hemolysis parameters remained unchanged, while platelets decreased (p = 0.005). After ECMO removal at the end of therapy, cfDNA, inflammation, and coagulation data (except antithrombin III) remained unchanged. The renewal of a system resulted in known alterations in fibrinogen, d-dimers, and platelets, while cfDNA remained unchanged. CONCLUSION: Detection of cfDNA in plasma of ECMO patients was not an indicator of acute and circuit-induced thrombogenesis. KW - blood KW - cell- free DNA KW - coagulation KW - ECMO KW - inflammation KW - neutrophil extracellular traps Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/aor.14616 SN - 1525-1594 VL - 47 IS - 11 SP - 1720 EP - 1731 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Foltan, Maik A1 - Dinh, D. A1 - Gruber, Michael A1 - Müller, Thomas A1 - Hart, C. A1 - Krenkel, Lars A1 - Schmid, C. A1 - Lehle, Karla T1 - Incidence of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in different membrane oxygenators: pilot in vitro experiments in commercially available coated membranes JF - Journal of artificial organs : the official journal of the Japanese Society for Artificial Organs N2 - Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) were detected in blood samples and in cellular deposits of oxygenator membranes during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy and may be responsible for thrombogenesis. The aim was to evaluate the effect of the base material of gas fiber (GF, polymethylpentene) and heat exchange (HE) membranes and different antithrombogenic coatings on isolated granulocytes from healthy volunteers under static culture conditions. Contact of granulocytes with membranes from different ECMO oxygenators (with different surface coatings) and uncoated-GFs allowed detection of adherent cells and NETotic nuclear structures (normal, swollen, ruptured) using nuclear staining. Flow cytometry was used to identify cell activation (CD11b/CD62L, oxidative burst) of non-adherent cells. Uncoated-GFs were used as a reference. Within 3 h, granulocytes adhered to the same extent on all surfaces. In contrast, the ratio of normal to NETotic cells was significantly higher for uncoated-GFs (56-83%) compared to all coated GFs (34-72%) (p < 0.001) with no difference between the coatings. After material contact, non-adherent cells remained vital with unchanged oxidative burst function and the proportion of activated cells remained low. The expression of activation markers was independent of the origin of the GF material. In conclusion, the polymethylpentene surfaces of the GFs already induce NET formation. Antithrombogenic coatings can already reduce the proportion of NETotic nuclei. However, it cannot be ruled out that NET formation can induce thrombotic events. Therefore, new surfaces or coatings are required for future ECMO systems and long-term implantable artificial lungs. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10047-024-01486-4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kurfess, Christina A1 - Corsten, Sabine A1 - Nickel, Maren A1 - Knieriemen, Marie A1 - Kreiter, Daniel A1 - Lauer, Norina T1 - Peer-to-peer support: digital networking in aphasia to improve quality of life (PeerPAL) JF - Frontiers in Communication N2 - Background: People with aphasia (PWA) often suffer from reduced participation and quality of life. Nevertheless, there are currently only a few specific interventions that respond to this problem. Participation and quality of life could be increased by interacting with peers who have similar experiences. Digital social networks could stimulate an autonomous interaction. However, digital social networks need to be adapted to the specific needs of PWA. Therefore, a participatory, agile process involving the target group should be chosen to develop such a olution, i.e., an app. The research project consists of a total of three phases. In the first phase—app development—the app was developed and programmed including the target group. In the second phase—app testing—the usability and user-friendliness of the app were evaluated with four PWA. In the third phase—feasibility and preliminary effcacy—that will be described in the article, the impact of the app on PWA will be evaluated. Aims: The overarching aim of our study is to provide preliminary effcacy of the intervention. Digital social interaction with other PWA can lead to increased social integration. In addition to digital interaction, personal encounters between PWA should be encouraged. As a result, we expect an improvement in quality of life of PWA. Additionally, we focus on identification of the most appropriate measurements to discover changes associated with the intervention. Methods: The evaluation, which is described in this paper, takes place in a pre-test - post-test design with a total of n = 48 PWA. Participants will be recruited in regional clusters to facilitate face-to-face meetings. Half of the participants will be assigned to the delayed intervention group and the other half to the immediate intervention group. Participants in the delayed intervention group will go through a 3-month waiting period before using the app, while the participants of the immediate intervention group will start using the app for 3 months right away. Inclusion criteria are the presence of chronic aphasia (at least 6 months) and possession of a smartphone with internet access. Questionnaires on quality of life (SAQOL-39, GHQ-12), depression (GDS, DISCs), communicative participation (CPIB), and social support (F-SozU) will be conducted at inclusion (t0), after 3 months of app use (t1), and after another 3 months for follow-up (t2). Participants in the delayed intervention group will be assessed twice before the intervention, before the 3-month waiting period (t0a) and after the waiting period (t0b). In addition to the quantitative measures, interviews will take place with 6 to 8 selected participants after 3 months of app use. Responses will be analysed using Thematic Analysis. Discussion: The app will be the first social network tool that is systematically developed with PWA. Initial indications from the first phases are that the app can be used by PWA, so that the evaluation of this app version can take place in the third phase. Results of this study can provide an initial indication of whether social network support is a suitable intervention. Findings will help provide information on the feasibility of digital connectivity for PWA. Preliminary findings on its impact on the participation and quality of life of PWA could be made available. KW - Aphasie KW - Partizipation KW - Lebensqualität KW - Soziales Netzwerk KW - peer-to-peer support Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-64881 VL - 8 PB - Frontiers Media S.A. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Paschke, Lukas A1 - Foltan, Maik A1 - Wagner, Maria S. A1 - Lubnow, Matthias A1 - Gruber, Michael A1 - Krenkel, Lars A1 - Lehle, Karla T1 - Clinical Relevance of Platelet-Leukocyte Aggregates and Platelet P-Selectin Expression During Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation JF - ASAIO Journal N2 - Thrombosis continues to be a significant complication during venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO). Platelet activation markers might serve as indicators of inflammation and thrombogenesis. The aim was to identify these markers in ECMO patients. Blood from 10 ECMO patients (before, during, after ECMO) and 11 healthy volunteers were collected to determine platelet-neutrophil-aggregates (PNAs), platelet-monocyte-aggregates (PMAs), fibrinogen-binding, and P-selectin-expression on platelets by flow cytometry. Critical illness was associated with significantly elevated levels of PNAs and PMAs, increased P-selectin expression, reduced fibrinogen-binding, and restricted activation of platelets. Although PNAs and PMAs decreased significantly within 2 hours after the initiation of ECMO and remained at those levels, ECMO did not affect basal P-selectin expression and fibrinogen-binding. These results correlated with coagulation activation. Platelet markers before ECMO were not indicators for an imminent system exchange and end of therapy. In conclusion, platelet dysfunction during ECMO was mainly attributed to the critical illness. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support strengthened the restricted response of platelets to exogenous agonists (P-selectin). Furthermore, a decrease in PNAs/PMAs after ECMO started identified a reduced inflammatory response. There was no correlation of analyzed platelet parameters with the incidence of thrombotic complications. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1097/MAT.0000000000002421 SN - 1058-2916 IS - April 03 PB - Wolters Kluwer ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Haerter, Martin A1 - Dirmaier, Jörg A1 - Scholl, Isabelle A1 - Donner-Banzhoff, Norbert A1 - Dierks, Marie-Luise A1 - Eich, Wolfgang A1 - Müller, Hardy A1 - Klemperer, David A1 - Koch, Klaus A1 - Bieber, Christiane T1 - The long way of implementing patient-centered care and shared decision making in Germany JF - Zeitschrift für Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualität im Gesundheitswesen N2 - The main focus of the paper is on the description of the development and current state of research and implementation of patient-centered care (PCC) and shared decision making (SDM) after fifteen years of substantial advances in health policy and health services research. What is the current state of SDM in health policy? The "Patients' Rights Act" from 2013 standardizes all rights and responsibilities within the framework of medical treatment for German citizens and legal residents. This comprises the right to informed decisions, comprehensive and comprehensible information for patients, and decisions based on a clinician-patient-partnership. What is the current state of SDM interventions and patient decision support tools? SDM training programs for healthcare professionals have been developed. Their implementation in medical schools has been successful. Several decision support tools - primarily with support from health insurance funds and other public agencies - are to be implemented in routine care, specifically for national cancer screening programs. What is the current state of research and routine implementation? The German government and other public institutions are constantly funding research programs in which patient-centered care and shared decision-making are important topics. The development and implementation of decision tools for patients and professionals as well as the implementation of CME trainings for healthcare professionals require future efforts. What does the future look like? With the support of health policy and scientific evidence, transfer of PCC and SDM to practice is regarded as meaningful. Research can help to assess barriers, facilitators, and needs, and subsequently to develop and evaluate corresponding strategies to successfully implement PCC and SDM in routine care, which remains challenging. KW - COMMUNICATION KW - DISORDERS KW - health policy KW - implementation KW - INFORMATION KW - MANAGEMENT KW - MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS KW - NEEDS KW - patient involvement KW - patient-centered care KW - PHYSICIANS KW - PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES KW - QUESTIONNAIRE KW - SATISFACTION KW - shared decision making Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zefq.2017.05.006 VL - 123 SP - 46 EP - 51 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Knödler, Leonard A1 - Berkin, Özdemir A1 - Moog, Philipp A1 - Prantl, Lukas A1 - Broer, P. Niclas A1 - Knödler, Christoph A1 - Rieger, Ulrich M. A1 - Perl, Markus A1 - von Isenburg, Sarah A1 - Gassner, Ulrich M. A1 - Obed, Doha A1 - Haug, Valentin A1 - Panayi, Adriana C. A1 - Knoedler, Samuel T1 - Thinking like a Lawyer - Human Rights and Their Association with the Plastic Surgeon of Today JF - Aesthetic Plastic Surgery N2 - Plastic surgeons are trained to perform a wide repertoire of surgeries-ranging from standard local procedures to highly specialized operations. Therefore, plastic surgeons treat a plethora of clinical presentations and address multiple patient needs. Their daily workflow is increasingly entwined with legal topics. The concrete legal interpretation falls within the remit of legal experts. However, by understanding the legal basics of selected surgical procedures, plastic surgeons may generate synergies in patient care and clinical practice. The legal situation is to be elucidated based on the German Basic Law (GBL) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). KW - European Convention on Human Rights KW - European Law KW - German Basic Law KW - Human Rights KW - Reconstructive Surgery Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-022-02990-9 VL - 114 PB - Springer-Verlag GmbH CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Knödler, Leonard A1 - Knoedler, Samuel A1 - Kauke-Navarro, Martin A1 - Knödler, Christoph A1 - Höfer, Simon A1 - Bächer, Helena A1 - Gassner, Ulrich M. A1 - Machens, Hans-Günther A1 - Prantl, Lukas A1 - Panayi, Adriana C. T1 - Three-dimensional Medical Printing and Associated Legal Issues in Plastic Surgery: A Scoping Review JF - Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery-Global Open N2 - Three-dimensional printing (3DP) represents an emerging field of surgery. 3DP can facilitate the plastic surgeon’s workflow, including preoperative planning, intraoperative assistance, and postoperative follow-up. The broad clinical application spectrum stands in contrast to the paucity of research on the legal framework of 3DP. This imbalance poses a potential risk for medical malpractice lawsuits. To address this knowledge gap, we aimed to summarize the current body of legal literature on medical 3DP in the US legal system. By combining the promising clinical use of 3DP with its current legal regulations, plastic surgeons can enhance patient safety and outcomes. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000004965 SN - 2169-7574 VL - 11 IS - 4 PB - Wolters Kluwer ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Röhrl, Simon A1 - Staufer, Susanne A1 - Bugert, Flemming A1 - Nadimpalli, Vamsi Krishna A1 - Hauser, Florian A1 - Grabinger, Lisa A1 - Bittner, Dominik A1 - Ezer, Timur A1 - Altweck, Ricardo A1 - Graf, Sabine A1 - Kriza, Thomas A1 - Mottok, Jürgen T1 - Ethical Considerations of AI in Education: A Case Study based on Pythia Learning Enhancement System JF - IEEE Access N2 - As the use of AI in education increases, addressing ethical concerns is essential for its responsible use and implementation. This study explores the ethical considerations of AI in education by analyzing a concrete application, the Pythia Learning Enhancement System, which enables personalized and adaptive educational experiences. In this case study, the concrete implementation of Pythia, contrary to high-level abstract analyses, provides practical insights into these ethical issues. To achieve this goal, we first define Pythia and outline its implementation. Using the various topics covered by Pythia, the ethical issues associated with each of these topics are outlined, resulting in a list of ten distinct ethical issues. Because there is overlap in issues covered by similar applications, they can benefit from this identification. An ethical (human rights) and didactic (constructivism) theoretical background is then provided as a basis for further discussion. This is used to build the arguments used in the main study. This consists of analyzing each of the issues and providing recommendations to mitigate potential harm arising from these issues. This helps to provide guidelines for future applications. In the analysis, the ethical discussion is mainly based on the human rights of the stakeholders involved, emphasizing human dignity. After the analysis, each of the issues is contextualized with the recent AI Act of the European Union, providing a novel mapping of the issues of AI in education to the AI Act. Finally, the limitations of the study are stated and a plan for future research is presented. KW - Ethics KW - Artificial intelligence KW - Education KW - Stakeholders KW - Psychology KW - Privacy KW - Search problems KW - Guidelines KW - Focusing KW - Europe Y1 - 2025 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-83403 SN - 2169-3536 N1 - Corresponding author der OTH Regensburg: Simon Röhrl VL - 11 SP - 1 EP - 25 PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niedling, Katharina A1 - Richter, Stefanie A1 - Hämel, Kerstin T1 - Triadic relationships in home care nursing: an integrative review of the views and experiences of older couples and nurses JF - BMC nursing N2 - BACKGROUND The need for long-term home care for older people with chronic health conditions is rising, and family members are bearing the brunt of this care work. Caring for a partner is a common scenario. Caregiving partners are often of advanced age themselves and have limiting health conditions of their own. Nurses need to consider the specific characteristics of partner caregiving to provide relationship-centred care. This review aims to analyse perceptions of the triadic relationship between older persons with long-term care needs, their caregiving partners and nurses and to identify approaches that can be supportive approaches that can help couples to cope with at-home care situations. METHODS This integrative review following the method outlined by Whittemore and Knafl focuses on qualitative and mixed methods studies. A systematic search in the PubMed and CINAHL databases served to identify studies dealing with experiences and perceptions of triadic care arrangements in home-based care from the perspectives of nurses, care recipients and caregiving partners. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria and investigated perceptions of the triadic relationship between nurses providing home care and older couples. They were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS The results show that triadic relationships in home-based care are shaped by social dynamics, role conflicts and barriers to communication. Although many couples are initially reluctant to integrate nursing professionals into home caregiving, mutual trust can develop when personnel continuity is given and sustained relationship work is performed. Clear communication, clarity on the distribution of tasks and proactive knowledge sharing by nurses facilitate cooperation. Caregiving partners desire support with self-care to preserve their ability to continue in their caregiving roles in the long term. CONCLUSIONS Understanding the dynamics of triadic relationships in nursing care and the care situation in couple relationships enables nurses to provide more targeted support to older couples. Proactive communication, role clarity and continuity of care can reduce the burden shouldered by caregiving partners and improve care quality. Further research focusing on strategies for strengthening relationship-centred interventions in home-based care is desirable. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER Not applicable. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03378-1 VL - 24 PB - BMC ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Steiger, Tamara A1 - Foltan, Maik A1 - Philipp, Alois A1 - Müller, Thomas A1 - Gruber, Michael A1 - Bredthauer, Andre A1 - Krenkel, Lars A1 - Birkenmaier, Clemens A1 - Lehle, Karla T1 - Accumulations of von Willebrand factor within ECMO oxygenators: Potential indicator of coagulation abnormalities in critically ill patients? JF - Artificial Organs N2 - Clot formation within membrane oxygenators (MOs) remains a critical problem during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The composition of the clots-in particular, the presence of von Willebrand factor (vWF)-may be an indicator for prevalent nonphysiological flow conditions, foreign body reactions, or coagulation abnormalities in critically ill patients. Mats of interwoven gas exchange fibers from randomly collected MOs (PLS, Maquet, Rastatt, Germany) of 21 patients were stained with antibodies (anti-vWF and anti-P-selectin) and counterstained with 4 ',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole. The extent of vWF-loading was correlated with patient and technical data. While 12 MOs showed low vWF-loadings, 9 MOs showed high vWF-loading with highest accumulations close to crossing points of adjacent gas fibers. The presence and the extent of vWF-fibers/"cobwebs," leukocytes, platelet-leukocyte aggregates (PLAs), and P-selectin-positive platelet aggregates were independent of the extent of vWF-loading. However, the highly loaded MOs were obtained from patients with a significantly elevated SOFA score, severe thrombocytopenia, and persistent liver dysfunction. The coagulation abnormalities of these critically ill patients may cause an accumulation of the highly thrombogenic and elongated high-molecular-weight vWF multimers in the plasma which will be trapped in the MOs during the ECMO therapy. KW - ECMO KW - PLATELET ACTIVATION KW - THROMBOSIS KW - BLOOD FLOW KW - INFLAMMATION Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/aor.13513 SN - 1525-1594 VL - 43 IS - 11 SP - 1065 EP - 1076 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Knödler, Leonard A1 - Dean, Jillian A1 - Knoedler, Samuel A1 - Kauke-Navarro, Martin A1 - Hollmann, Katharina A1 - Alfertshofer, Michael A1 - Helm, Sabrina A1 - Prantl, Lukas A1 - Schliermann, Rainer T1 - Hard shell, soft core? Multi-disciplinary and multi-national insights into mental toughness among surgeons JF - Frontiers in Surgery N2 - Background: With the prevalence of burnout among surgeons posing a significant threat to healthcare outcomes, the mental toughness of medical professionals has come to the fore. Mental toughness is pivotal for surgical performance and patient safety, yet research into its dynamics within a global and multi-specialty context remains scarce. This study aims to elucidate the factors contributing to mental toughness among surgeons and to understand how it correlates with surgical outcomes and personal well-being. Methods: Utilizing a cross-sectional design, this study surveyed 104 surgeons from English and German-speaking countries using the Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ-18) along with additional queries about their surgical practice and general life satisfaction. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were applied to investigate the variations in mental toughness across different surgical domains and its correlation with professional and personal factors. Results: The study found a statistically significant higher level of mental toughness in micro-surgeons compared to macro-surgeons and a positive correlation between mental toughness and surgeons' intent to continue their careers. A strong association was also observed between general life satisfaction and mental toughness. No significant correlations were found between the application of psychological skills and mental toughness. Conclusion: Mental toughness varies significantly among surgeons from different specialties and is influenced by professional dedication and personal life satisfaction. These findings suggest the need for targeted interventions to foster mental toughness in the surgical community, potentially enhancing surgical performance and reducing burnout. Future research should continue to explore these correlations, with an emphasis on longitudinal data and the development of resilience-building programs. KW - mental toughness KW - mental health KW - resilience KW - robustness KW - psychology KW - surgery Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fsurg.2024.1361406 N1 - Correspondign author der OTH Regensburg: Rainer Schliermann (und Leonard Knoedler) VL - 11 PB - Frontiers ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hauser, Florian A1 - Grabinger, Lisa A1 - Mottok, Jürgen A1 - Jahn, Sabrina A1 - Nadimpalli, Vamsi Krishna T1 - The Expert’s View: Eye Movement Modeling Examples in Software Engineering Education T2 - Proceedings of the 5th European Conference on Software Engineering Education, Seeon/Germany, June 19 - 21, 2023 N2 - This study investigates the impact of eye movement modeling examples in Software Engineering education. Software Engineering is a highly visual domain. The daily tasks of a software engineer (e.g., formulating requirements, creating UML diagrams, or conducting a code review) require in many cases the use of certain visual strategies. Although these strategies can be found for experts, it has been observed in different eye tracking studies that students have difficulties in learning and applying them. To familiarize students with these visual strategies and to provide them with a better understanding for the cognitive processes involved, a total of seven eye movement modeling examples was created. The seven eye movement modeling examples cover relevant parts of an introductory Software Engineering lecture; they are focused on typical situations in which visual strategies are applied. The results of a questionnaire-based evaluation shows that students consider the eye movement modeling examples as useful, feel supported in their learning process, and would like to see more use of them in the Software Engineering lecture. Furthermore, the students suggested that eye movement modeling examples should also be used in other lectures. Y1 - 2023 SN - 978-1-4503-9956-2 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1145/3593663.3593683 SP - 148 EP - 152 PB - ACM ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Haus, Moritz A1 - Foltan, Maik A1 - Philipp, Alois A1 - Müller, Thomas A1 - Lingel, Maximilian P. A1 - Krenkel, Lars A1 - Gruber, Michael A1 - Lehle, Karla T1 - Neutrophil extracellular traps -a potential trigger for the development of thrombocytopenia during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation N2 - Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have recently emerged as a potential link between inflammation, immunity, and thrombosis, as well as other coagulation disorders which present a major challenge in the context of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). By examining blood from ECMO patients for NETs and their precursors and correlating them with clinical and laboratory biomarkers of coagulation and inflammation, this study aims to evaluate the association between the presence of NETs in the bloodstream of ECMO patients and the development of potentially severe coagulation disorders during ECMO therapy. Therefore, blood samples were collected from healthy volunteers (n=13) and patients receiving veno-venous (VV) ECMO therapy (n=10). To identify NETs and their precursors, DNA and myeloperoxidase as well as granulocyte marker CD66b were visualized simultaneously by immunofluorescence staining in serial blood smears. Differentiation of DNA-containing objects and identification of NETs and their precursors was performed semiautomatically by a specific algorithm using the shape and size of DNA staining and the intensity of MPO and CD66b signal. Neutrophil extracellular traps and their precursors could be detected in blood smears from patients requiring VV ECMO. Compared to volunteers, ECMO patients presented significantly higher rates of NETs and NET precursors as well as an increased proportion of neutrophil granulocytes in all detected nucleated cells. A high NET rate prior to the initiation of ECMO therapy was associated with both increased iL-6 and TNF-α levels as an expression of a high cytokine burden. These patients with increased NET release also presented an earlier and significantly more pronounced decrease in platelet counts and ATIII activity following initiation of therapy compared with patients with less elevated NETs. These findings provide further indications for the development of immune-mediated acquired thrombocytopenia in ECMO patients. KW - Neutrophil extracellular traps (NET) KW - Immunoflorescence KW - Thrombocytopenia KW - Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) KW - Sepsis KW - immunothrombosis KW - Coagulation disorder Y1 - 2024 UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1339235/abstract U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1339235 VL - 15 PB - frontiers ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lichtenauer, Norbert A1 - Schlachetzki, Felix A1 - Eberl, Inge A1 - Meussling-Sentpali, Annette T1 - Differences in teletherapy and telecare?-Experiences of health professionals and patients with video communication in nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy JF - Digital health N2 - INTRODUCTION The spread and implementation of digital synchronous video communication in telecare and teletherapy has recently increased significantly, not just because of COVID-19 but also due to a global trend towards more digital healthcare services in the last two decades. This shift prompts the question of how digital telesetting differs from a face-to-face setting and which aspects are fundamental. METHODS As the first part of a mixed-method study, qualitative interviews (n = 20) were conducted from July 2021 to January 2022. Health professionals (n = 13) and patients (n = 7) from occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, and nursing were interviewed. All interviewees came from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The results were categorized using structured content analysis. RESULTS Six main categories and 20 sub-categories were summarized, which can act as barriers or resources in a telesetting. Both sides described a high level of acceptance and approval of telesetting. Motivation and digital skills were of great importance. Furthermore, special features in communication and interaction were described, as well as changes in organizational procedures and a specific process flow in telesetting. Including relatives was more feasible, although several environmental factors should be considered. DISCUSSION A number of specific changes in a telesetting compared to a face-to-face setting show the need for a structured guide for interested parties. Appropriate basic principles must be taught in training and further education to support the spread of this new form of care. Furthermore, it is crucial to adapt the methodological and content-related aspects of telesetting and develop new approaches that specifically integrate audio-visual possibilities. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241301963 VL - 10 PB - Sage ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Deuter, Daniel A1 - Haj, Amer A1 - Brawanski, Alexander A1 - Krenkel, Lars A1 - Schmidt, Nils Ole A1 - Doenitz, Christian T1 - Fast simulation of hemodynamics in intracranial aneurysms for clinical use JF - Acta Neurochirurgica N2 - BACKGROUND: A widely accepted tool to assess hemodynamics, one of the most important factors in aneurysm pathophysiology, is Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). As current workflows are still time consuming and difficult to operate, CFD is not yet a standard tool in the clinical setting. There it could provide valuable information on aneurysm treatment, especially regarding local risks of rupture, which might help to optimize the individualized strategy of neurosurgical dissection during microsurgical aneurysm clipping. METHOD: We established and validated a semi-automated workflow using 3D rotational angiographies of 24 intracranial aneurysms from patients having received aneurysm treatment at our centre. Reconstruction of vessel geometry and generation of volume meshes was performed using AMIRA 6.2.0 and ICEM 17.1. For solving ANSYS CFX was used. For validational checks, tests regarding the volumetric impact of smoothing operations, the impact of mesh sizes on the results (grid convergence), geometric mesh quality and time tests for the time needed to perform the workflow were conducted in subgroups. RESULTS: Most of the steps of the workflow were performed directly on the 3D images requiring no programming experience. The workflow led to final CFD results in a mean time of 22 min 51.4 s (95%-CI 20 min 51.562 s-24 min 51.238 s, n = 5). Volume of the geometries after pre-processing was in mean 4.46% higher than before in the analysed subgroup (95%-CI 3.43-5.50%). Regarding mesh sizes, mean relative aberrations of 2.30% (95%-CI 1.51-3.09%) were found for surface meshes and between 1.40% (95%-CI 1.07-1.72%) and 2.61% (95%-CI 1.93-3.29%) for volume meshes. Acceptable geometric mesh quality of volume meshes was found. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a semi-automated workflow for aneurysm CFD to benefit from hemodynamic data in the clinical setting. The ease of handling opens the workflow to clinicians untrained in programming. As previous studies have found that the distribution of hemodynamic parameters correlates with thin-walled aneurysm areas susceptible to rupture, these data might be beneficial for the operating neurosurgeon during aneurysm surgery, even in acute cases. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-025-06469-9 VL - 167 PB - Springer ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Markov-Glazer, Alon A1 - Elbe, Anne-Marie A1 - Schliermann, Rainer T1 - From their eyes: Deaflympic athletes' and coaches' perspectives on mental training JF - Frontiers in sports and active living N2 - INTRODUCTION Sport psychology research has largely overlooked athletes with hearing impairments competing in Deaflympic sports, the designated elite sporting movement for this population. This study therefore explored Deaflympic athletes' and coaches' perspectives on mental training in the elite Deaf sports. METHODS A qualitative approach was used, involving six focus group interviews with 23 athletes (Mage = 33.09; 26.1% female) and four coaches from individual and team Deaf sports. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS Three themes emerged: sport psychology consultation, the influence of visual orientation on psychological skills and demands, and Deaf sport culture and communication. While participants expressed strong interest in sport psychology, engagement with professionals was limited by accessibility issues, lack of sign language-fluent consultants, and structural barriers. Deaf athletes reported adapting some techniques to match their visual-spatial orientation and both advantages and challenges of visual reliance in sports. Distinct communication dynamics between native signers and spoken-language users within Deaf teams were also revealed. DISCUSSION These findings highlight the importance of culturally sensitive sport psychology frameworks that support the needs and preferences of Deaflympic athletes and promote equitable access to effective mental training resources. Y1 - 2025 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-84183 N1 - Corresponding author der OTH Regensburg: Alon Markov-Glazer VL - 7 PB - Frontiers ER - TY - GEN A1 - Saffert, Anne-Sophie A1 - Melzner, Maximilian A1 - Dendorfer, Sebastian T1 - Biomechanical Analysis of the Right Elevated Glenohumeral Joint in Violinists during Legato-Playing T2 - Biomdlore 2021: 21-23 October 2021 Vilnius/Trakai, Lithuania N2 - BACKGROUND: Many statistics reveal that violin players suffer most often from musculoskeletal disorders compared to musicians of other instrument groups. A common phenomenon, especially observed in violin beginners, is the tendency to elevate the right shoulder during playing the violin. This can probably lead to serious disorders in long-term practice with repetitive movements. OBJECTIVE: For this reason, this study investigated the relationship between the right shoulder elevation and the force in the right glenohumeral joint during violin playing. It was hypothesized that the forces in the right glenohumeral joint are higher during playing with the right shoulder raised compared to playing in normal posture. METHODS: Motion capture data from four experienced violinists was recorded and processed by means of musculoskeletal simulation to get the force and elevation angle while playing with raised shoulder and in normal position. RESULTS: The results indicate that the absolute values of the resulting force, as well as the forces in the mediolateral, inferosuperior, and anteroposterior directions, are higher in playing the violin with the shoulder raised than in a normal posture. CONCLUSIONS: Elevating the right shoulder while playing the violin may pose a potential problem. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3233/THC-219001 N1 - Veröffentlicht in: Technology and Health Care, vol. 30, no. 1 (Selected Papers From the 13th International Conference BIOMDLORE 2021), pp. 177-186, 2022 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kheiroddin, Parastoo A1 - Schöberl, Patricia A1 - Althammer, Michael A1 - Cibali, Ezgi A1 - Würfel, Thea A1 - Wein, Hannah A1 - Kulawik, Birgit A1 - Buntrock-Döpke, Heike A1 - Weigl, Eva A1 - Gran, Silvia A1 - Gründl, Magdalena A1 - Langguth, Jana A1 - Lampl, Benedikt A1 - Judex, Guido A1 - Niggel, Jakob A1 - Pagel, Philipp A1 - Schratzenstaller, Thomas A1 - Schneider-Brachert, Wulf A1 - Gastiger, Susanne A1 - Bodenschatz, Mona A1 - Konrad, Maike A1 - Levchuk, Artem A1 - Roth, Cornelius A1 - Schöner, David A1 - Schneebauer, Florian A1 - Rohrmanstorfer, René A1 - Burkovski, Andreas A1 - Ambrosch, Andreas A1 - Wagner, Thomas A1 - Kabesch, Michael ED - Buonsenso, Danilo T1 - Results of WICOVIR Gargle Pool PCR Testing in German Schools Based on the First 100,000 Tests JF - Frontiers in Pediatrics N2 - Background: Opening schools and keeping children safe from SARS-CoV-2 infections at the same time is urgently needed to protect children from direct and indirect consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve this goal, a safe, efficient, and cost-effective SARS-CoV-2 testing system for schools in addition to standard hygiene measures is necessary. Methods: We implemented the screening WICOVIR concept for schools in the southeast of Germany, which is based on gargling at home, pooling of samples in schools, and assessment of SARS-CoV-2 by pool rRT-PCR, performed decentralized in numerous participating laboratories. Depooling was performed if pools were positive, and results were transmitted with software specifically developed for the project within a day. Here, we report the results after the first 13 weeks in the project. Findings: We developed and implemented the proof-of-concept test system within a pilot phase of 7 weeks based on almost 17,000 participants. After 6 weeks in the main phase of the project, we performed >100,000 tests in total, analyzed in 7,896 pools, identifying 19 cases in >100 participating schools. On average, positive children showed an individual CT value of 31 when identified in the pools. Up to 30 samples were pooled (mean 13) in general, based on school classes and attached school staff. All three participating laboratories detected positive samples reliably with their previously established rRT-PCR standard protocols. When self-administered antigen tests were performed concomitantly in positive cases, only one of these eight tests was positive, and when antigen tests performed after positive pool rRT-PCR results were already known were included, 3 out of 11 truly positive tests were also identified by antigen testing. After 3 weeks of repetitive WICOVIR testing twice weekly, the detection rate of positive children in that cohort decreased significantly from 0.042 to 0.012 (p = 0.008). Interpretation: Repeated gargle pool rRT-PCR testing can be implemented quickly in schools. It is an effective, valid, and well-received test system for schools, superior to antigen tests in sensitivity, acceptance, and costs. KW - children KW - COVID-19 KW - Germany KW - PCR KW - pooling KW - gargle KW - schools KW - pandemic KW - Covid-19 KW - Polymerase-Kettenreaktion KW - Nachweis KW - Schulkind KW - Deutschland Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2021.721518 SN - 2296-2360 VL - 9 PB - frontiers ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schedlbauer, Jürgen A1 - Raptis, Georgios A1 - Ludwig, Bernd T1 - Medical informatics labor market analysis using web crawling, web scraping, and text mining JF - International Journal of Medical Informatics N2 - Objectives The European University Association (EUA) defines “employability” as a major goal of higher education. Therefore, competence-based orientation is an important aspect of education. The representation of a standardized job profile in the field of medical informatics, which is based on the most common labor market requirements, is fundamental for identifying and conveying the learning goals corresponding to these competences. Methods To identify the most common requirements, we extracted 544 job advertisements from the German job portal, STEPSTONE. This process was conducted via a program we developed in R with the “rvest” library, utilizing web crawling, web extraction, and text mining. After removing duplicates and filtering for jobs that required a bachelor's degree, 147 job advertisements remained, from which we extracted qualification terms. We categorized the terms into six groups: professional expertise, soft skills, teamwork, processes, learning, and problem-solving abilities. Results The results showed that only 45% of the terms are related to professional expertise, while 55% are related to soft skills. Studies of employee soft skills have shown similar results. The most prevalent terms were programming, experience, project, and server. Our second major finding is the importance of experience, further underlining how essential practical skills are. Conclusions Previous studies used surveys and narrative descriptions. This is the first study to use web crawling, web extraction, and text mining. Our research shows that soft skills and specialist knowledge carry equal weight. The insights gained from this study may be of assistance in developing curricula for medical informatics. KW - Medical informatics KW - Graduate employability KW - Text mining KW - Competence-based education KW - Soft skills Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2021.104453 SN - 1386-5056 VL - 150 IS - June PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dillinger, Andrea Elisabeth A1 - Weber, Gregor R. A1 - Mayer, Matthias A1 - Schneider, Magdalena A1 - Göppner, Corinna A1 - Ohlmann, Andreas A1 - Shamonin (Chamonine), Mikhail A1 - Monkman, Gareth J. A1 - Fuchshofer, Rudolf A1 - Keller, Kate A1 - Lozano, Diana C. A1 - Clark, Abbot T1 - CCN2/CTGF-A Modulator of the Optic Nerve Head Astrocyte JF - Frontiers in cell and developmental biology (Front Cell Dev Biol.) N2 - In primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), a neurodegenerative disease of the optic nerve (ON) and leading cause of blindness, the optic nerve head (ONH) undergoes marked structural extracellular matrix (ECM) changes, which contribute to its permanent deformation and to degeneration of ON axons. The remodeling process of the ECM causes changes in the biomechanical properties of the ONH and the peripapillary sclera, which is accompanied by an increased reactivity of the resident astrocytes. The molecular factors involved in the remodeling process belong to the Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily, especially TGF-β2. In previous publications we showed that TGF-β2 induced ECM alterations are mediated by Cellular Communication Network Factor (CCN)2/Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) and recently we showed that CCN2/CTGF is expressed by astrocytes of the ON under normal conditions. In this study we wanted to get a better understanding of the function of CCN2/CTGF under normal and pathologic conditions. To this end, we analyzed the glial lamina and peripapillary sclera of CCN2/CTGF overexpressing mice and studied the effect of CCN2/CTGF and increasing substratum stiffness on murine ON astrocytes in vitro. We observed enhanced astrocyte reactivity in the ONH, increased ECM protein synthesis in the peripapillary sclera and increased Ccn2/Ctgf expression in the ONH during the pathologic development in situ. CCN2/CTGF treatment of primary murine ON astrocytes induced a higher migration rate, and increase of ECM proteins including fibronectin, elastin and collagen type III. Furthermore, the astrocytes responded to stiffer substratum with increased glial fibrillary acidic protein, vimentin, actin and CCN2/CTGF synthesis. Finally, we observed the reinforced appearance of CCN2/CTGF in the lamina cribrosa of glaucomatous patients. We conclude that reactive changes in ONH astrocytes, induced by the altered biomechanical characteristics of the region, give rise to a self-amplifying process that includes increased TGF-β2/CCN2/CTGF signaling and leads to the synthesis of ECM molecules and cytoskeleton proteins, a process that in turn augments the stiffness at the ONH. Such a scenario may finally result in a vicious circle in the pathogenesis of POAG. The transgenic CTGF-overexpressing mouse model might be an optimal model to study the chronic pathological POAG changes in the ONH. KW - astrocytes KW - extracellar matrix KW - glaucoma KW - glial lamina KW - growth factors KW - optic nerve KW - stiffness Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2022.864433 VL - 10 PB - frontiers ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Huszák, Loretta A1 - Kauppinen, Antti A1 - Saßmannshausen, Sean Patrick A1 - Sobolieva, Tetiana A1 - Steger, Thomas ED - Huszák, Loretta ED - Kauppinen, Antti ED - Saßmannshausen, Sean Patrick ED - Sobolieva, Tetiana ED - Steger, Thomas T1 - Entrepreneurship Education in the Danube Region JF - JEEMS - Journal of East European Management Studies, Special Issue 2024: Entrepreneurship Education in Central and East Europe N2 - Resources for entrepreneurship education are not evenly distributed around the world, and territorial cooperation is often necessary. This is particularly true for the Eastern European region and especially for the Danube region. Entrepreneurship research (including entrepreneurship education) has a long tradition in Western countries but catching up and integration into international networks poses a challenge, especially for Eastern countries. The aim of this special issue is to contribute to the development of this international cooperation by presenting research and best practices in entrepreneurship education in Central and Eastern Europe. The special issue is part of the Danube Cup initiative, which combines entrepreneurship teaching and research to provide opportunities for entrepreneurship educators to benchmark best educational practices and develop inspiring research results in the field of entrepreneurship education. KW - Entrepreneurship KW - Entrepreneurship Education KW - Entrepreneurship Research Y1 - 2025 SN - 9783748949602 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748949602-7 SP - 7 EP - 14 PB - Nomos ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schaeffer, Leon A1 - Herrmann, David A1 - Schratzenstaller, Thomas A1 - Dendorfer, Sebastian A1 - Böhm, Valter T1 - Theoretical considerations on stiffness characteristics of a 3-dimensional tensegrity joint model for the use in dynamic hand orthoses JF - Journal of Medical Robotics Research Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1142/S2424905X25400069 PB - World Scientific ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maier, Eva A1 - Zentgraf, Jan A1 - Angele, Eveline A1 - Zorzin, José A1 - Taschner, Michael A1 - Widbiller, Matthias A1 - Galler, Kerstin A1 - Schratzenstaller, Thomas T1 - A re-usable 3D-printed training model for the endodontic management of dental trauma in immature teeth JF - International endodontic journal N2 - AIM: To develop a 3D-printed model enabling treatment simulation of trauma-related endodontic and restorative procedures like revitalization or placement of an apical plug on teeth with incomplete root formation. METHODOLOGY: To generate a realistic training model suitable for trauma-related simulations, CT-Data sets were segmented, combined, adjusted and optimized using computer-aided design features. Specific focus was on optimally reflecting characteristics of immature teeth like open apical foramina and thin root walls. For reflection of the revitalization process, a set-up including a tube filled with red liquid under pressure was developed to be perforated during the procedure by the trainee, simulating bleeding from the apical papilla into the root canal system. Design was based on a combination of cost-effective simple parts combined with 3D-printed components to achieve maximal accessibility, exchangeability and re-usability. Model assembly and preparation were described in step-by-step instructions. RESULTS: As a result of the developmental process, the presented model qualifies for the training of the endodontic management of complications on immature teeth after dental trauma. Step-by-step descriptions aligned with the clinical procedures are performable for a revitalization procedure, for pulpotomy followed by fragment re-attachment and splint application and for placement of an apical plug using hydraulic calcium silicate cements. CONCLUSIONS: The model successfully achieved its intended objectives, so that it may be used in the future in various dental trauma treatment simulations for undergraduate and postgraduate education on the endodontic management of trauma-related therapies in immature teeth. Its common manufacturing process, affordability and re-usability support accessibility and sustainability. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/iej.14235 SN - 1365-2591 VL - 2025 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Markov-Glazer, Alon A1 - Elbe, Anne-Marie A1 - Schliermann, Rainer T1 - The use of psychological skills in deaflympic sport JF - European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity N2 - This study explores the use of psychological skills among Deaflympic athletes and aims to provide initial insights into sport psychology practices in this overlooked population. To this end, the frequency of psychological skills’ usage, usage patterns, and differences between subgroups were examined within this population. The Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS) was administered to 84 German Deaflympic athletes (mean age = 28; 27% female) along with biographical questions (e.g., hearing status). The findings indicate that Deaflympic athletes regularly utilize psychological skills in training and competition, displaying similar usage to that of Olympic athletes. However, only a minority of Deaflympic athletes train their skills with professional consultants. Additionally, relaxation techniques were employed rarely in comparison to the other investigated skills. This study’s findings contribute to the foundation of sport psychology research with Deaflympic athletes and underscore the need for a differentiated approach in tailoring interventions for this population. KW - Deaf culture KW - Deaflympian KW - psychological skills training KW - TOPS Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5507/euj.2024.012 VL - 17 IS - 15 PB - European Federation of Adapted Physical Activity CY - Olomouc ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hartmann, Robin A1 - Nieberle, Felix A1 - Palm, Christoph A1 - Brébant, Vanessa A1 - Prantl, Lukas A1 - Kuehle, Reinald A1 - Reichert, Torsten E. A1 - Taxis, Juergen A1 - Ettl, Tobias T1 - Utility of Smartphone-based Three-dimensional Surface Imaging for Digital Facial Anthropometry JF - JPRAS Open N2 - Background The utilization of three-dimensional (3D) surface imaging for facial anthropometry is a significant asset for patients undergoing maxillofacial surgery. Notably, there have been recent advancements in smartphone technology that enable 3D surface imaging. In this study, anthropometric assessments of the face were performed using a smartphone and a sophisticated 3D surface imaging system. Methods 30 healthy volunteers (15 females and 15 males) were included in the study. An iPhone 14 Pro (Apple Inc., USA) using the application 3D Scanner App (Laan Consulting Corp., USA) and the Vectra M5 (Canfield Scientific, USA) were employed to create 3D surface models. For each participant, 19 anthropometric measurements were conducted on the 3D surface models. Subsequently, the anthropometric measurements generated by the two approaches were compared. The statistical techniques employed included the paired t-test, paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Bland–Altman analysis, and calculation of the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results All measurements showed excellent agreement between smartphone-based and Vectra M5-based measurements (ICC between 0.85 and 0.97). Statistical analysis revealed no statistically significant differences in the central tendencies for 17 of the 19 linear measurements. Despite the excellent agreement found, Bland–Altman analysis revealed that the 95% limits of agreement between the two methods exceeded ±3 mm for the majority of measurements. Conclusion Digital facial anthropometry using smartphones can serve as a valuable supplementary tool for surgeons, enhancing their communication with patients. However, the proposed data suggest that digital facial anthropometry using smartphones may not yet be suitable for certain diagnostic purposes that require high accuracy. KW - Three-dimensional surface imaging KW - Stereophotogrammetry KW - Smartphone-based surface imaging KW - Digital anthropometry KW - Facial anthropometry Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-70348 VL - 39 SP - 330 EP - 343 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ebigbo, Alanna A1 - Mendel, Robert A1 - Scheppach, Markus W. A1 - Probst, Andreas A1 - Shahidi, Neal A1 - Prinz, Friederike A1 - Fleischmann, Carola A1 - Römmele, Christoph A1 - Gölder, Stefan Karl A1 - Braun, Georg A1 - Rauber, David A1 - Rückert, Tobias A1 - Souza Jr., Luis Antonio de A1 - Papa, João Paulo A1 - Byrne, Michael F. A1 - Palm, Christoph A1 - Messmann, Helmut T1 - Vessel and tissue recognition during third-space endoscopy using a deep learning algorithm JF - Gut N2 - In this study, we aimed to develop an artificial intelligence clinical decision support solution to mitigate operator-dependent limitations during complex endoscopic procedures such as endoscopic submucosal dissection and peroral endoscopic myotomy, for example, bleeding and perforation. A DeepLabv3-based model was trained to delineate vessels, tissue structures and instruments on endoscopic still images from such procedures. The mean cross-validated Intersection over Union and Dice Score were 63% and 76%, respectively. Applied to standardised video clips from third-space endoscopic procedures, the algorithm showed a mean vessel detection rate of 85% with a false-positive rate of 0.75/min. These performance statistics suggest a potential clinical benefit for procedure safety, time and also training. KW - Artificial Intelligence KW - Endoscopy KW - Medical Image Computing Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-54293 VL - 71 IS - 12 SP - 2388 EP - 2390 PB - BMJ CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Knödler, Leonard A1 - Baecher, Helena A1 - Kauke-Navarro, Martin A1 - Prantl, Lukas A1 - Machens, Hans-Günther A1 - Scheuermann, Philipp A1 - Palm, Christoph A1 - Baumann, Raphael A1 - Kehrer, Andreas A1 - Panayi, Adriana C. A1 - Knoedler, Samuel T1 - Towards a Reliable and Rapid Automated Grading System in Facial Palsy Patients: Facial Palsy Surgery Meets Computer Science JF - Journal of Clinical Medicine N2 - Background: Reliable, time- and cost-effective, and clinician-friendly diagnostic tools are cornerstones in facial palsy (FP) patient management. Different automated FP grading systems have been developed but revealed persisting downsides such as insufficient accuracy and cost-intensive hardware. We aimed to overcome these barriers and programmed an automated grading system for FP patients utilizing the House and Brackmann scale (HBS). Methods: Image datasets of 86 patients seen at the Department of Plastic, Hand, and Reconstructive Surgery at the University Hospital Regensburg, Germany, between June 2017 and May 2021, were used to train the neural network and evaluate its accuracy. Nine facial poses per patient were analyzed by the algorithm. Results: The algorithm showed an accuracy of 100%. Oversampling did not result in altered outcomes, while the direct form displayed superior accuracy levels when compared to the modular classification form (n = 86; 100% vs. 99%). The Early Fusion technique was linked to improved accuracy outcomes in comparison to the Late Fusion and sequential method (n = 86; 100% vs. 96% vs. 97%). Conclusions: Our automated FP grading system combines high-level accuracy with cost- and time-effectiveness. Our algorithm may accelerate the grading process in FP patients and facilitate the FP surgeon’s workflow. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11174998 VL - 11 IS - 17 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Souza Jr., Luis Antonio de A1 - Palm, Christoph A1 - Mendel, Robert A1 - Hook, Christian A1 - Ebigbo, Alanna A1 - Probst, Andreas A1 - Messmann, Helmut A1 - Weber, Silke A. T. A1 - Papa, João Paulo T1 - A survey on Barrett's esophagus analysis using machine learning JF - Computers in Biology and Medicine N2 - This work presents a systematic review concerning recent studies and technologies of machine learning for Barrett's esophagus (BE) diagnosis and treatment. The use of artificial intelligence is a brand new and promising way to evaluate such disease. We compile some works published at some well-established databases, such as Science Direct, IEEEXplore, PubMed, Plos One, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Springer, and Hindawi Publishing Corporation. Each selected work has been analyzed to present its objective, methodology, and results. The BE progression to dysplasia or adenocarcinoma shows a complex pattern to be detected during endoscopic surveillance. Therefore, it is valuable to assist its diagnosis and automatic identification using computer analysis. The evaluation of the BE dysplasia can be performed through manual or automated segmentation through machine learning techniques. Finally, in this survey, we reviewed recent studies focused on the automatic detection of the neoplastic region for classification purposes using machine learning methods. KW - Speiseröhrenkrankheit KW - Diagnose KW - Mustererkennung KW - Maschinelles Lernen KW - Literaturbericht KW - Barrett's esophagus KW - Machine learning KW - Adenocarcinoma KW - Image processing KW - Pattern recognition KW - Computer-aided diagnosis Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2018.03.014 VL - 96 SP - 203 EP - 213 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ott, Tankred A1 - Palm, Christoph A1 - Vogt, Robert A1 - Oberprieler, Christoph T1 - GinJinn: An object-detection pipeline for automated feature extraction from herbarium specimens JF - Applications in Plant Sciences N2 - PREMISE: The generation of morphological data in evolutionary, taxonomic, and ecological studies of plants using herbarium material has traditionally been a labor-intensive task. Recent progress in machine learning using deep artificial neural networks (deep learning) for image classification and object detection has facilitated the establishment of a pipeline for the automatic recognition and extraction of relevant structures in images of herbarium specimens. METHODS AND RESULTS: We implemented an extendable pipeline based on state-of-the-art deep-learning object-detection methods to collect leaf images from herbarium specimens of two species of the genus Leucanthemum. Using 183 specimens as the training data set, our pipeline extracted one or more intact leaves in 95% of the 61 test images. CONCLUSIONS: We establish GinJinn as a deep-learning object-detection tool for the automatic recognition and extraction of individual leaves or other structures from herbarium specimens. Our pipeline offers greater flexibility and a lower entrance barrier than previous image-processing approaches based on hand-crafted features. KW - Deep Learning KW - herbarium specimens KW - object detection KW - visual recognition KW - Deep Learning KW - Objekterkennung KW - Maschinelles Sehen KW - Pflanzen Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/aps3.11351 SN - 2168-0450 VL - 8 IS - 6 SP - e11351 PB - Wiley, Botanical Society of America ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ebigbo, Alanna A1 - Palm, Christoph A1 - Probst, Andreas A1 - Mendel, Robert A1 - Manzeneder, Johannes A1 - Prinz, Friederike A1 - Souza Jr., Luis Antonio de A1 - Papa, João Paulo A1 - Siersema, Peter A1 - Messmann, Helmut T1 - A technical review of artificial intelligence as applied to gastrointestinal endoscopy: clarifying the terminology JF - Endoscopy International Open N2 - The growing number of publications on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine underlines the enormous importance and potential of this emerging field of research. In gastrointestinal endoscopy, AI has been applied to all segments of the gastrointestinal tract most importantly in the detection and characterization of colorectal polyps. However, AI research has been published also in the stomach and esophagus for both neoplastic and non-neoplastic disorders. The various technical as well as medical aspects of AI, however, remain confusing especially for non-expert physicians. This physician-engineer co-authored review explains the basic technical aspects of AI and provides a comprehensive overview of recent publications on AI in gastrointestinal endoscopy. Finally, a basic insight is offered into understanding publications on AI in gastrointestinal endoscopy. KW - Diagnose KW - Maschinelles Lernen KW - Gastroenterologie KW - Künstliche Intelligenz KW - Barrett's esophagus KW - Deep learning Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1010-5705 VL - 07 IS - 12 SP - 1616 EP - 1623 PB - Georg Thieme Verlag CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Wöhl, Rebecca A1 - Huber, Michaela A1 - Loibl, Markus A1 - Riebschläger, Birgit A1 - Nerlich, Michael A1 - Palm, Christoph T1 - The Impact of Semi-Automated Segmentation and 3D Analysis on Testing New Osteosynthesis Material T2 - Bildverarbeitung für die Medizin 2017; Algorithmen - Systeme - Anwendungen; Proceedings des Workshops vom 12. bis 14. März 2017 in Heidelberg N2 - A new protocol for testing osteosynthesis material postoperatively combining semi-automated segmentation and 3D analysis of surface meshes is proposed. By various steps of transformation and measuring, objective data can be collected. In this study the specifications of a locking plate used for mediocarpal arthrodesis of the wrist were examined. The results show, that union of the lunate, triquetrum, hamate and capitate was achieved and that the plate is comparable to coexisting arthrodesis systems. Additionally, it was shown, that the complications detected correlate to the clinical outcome. In synopsis, this protocol is considered beneficial and should be taken into account in further studies. KW - Osteosynthese KW - Implantatwerkstoff KW - Materialprüfung KW - Bildsegmentierung KW - Dreidimensionale Bildverarbeitung Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54345-0_30 SP - 122 EP - 127 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meinikheim, Michael A1 - Mendel, Robert A1 - Palm, Christoph A1 - Probst, Andreas A1 - Muzalyova, Anna A1 - Scheppach, Markus W. A1 - Nagl, Sandra A1 - Schnoy, Elisabeth A1 - Römmele, Christoph A1 - Schulz, Dominik Andreas Helmut Otto A1 - Schlottmann, Jakob A1 - Prinz, Friederike A1 - Rauber, David A1 - Rückert, Tobias A1 - Matsumura, Tomoaki A1 - Fernández-Esparrach, Glòria A1 - Parsa, Nasim A1 - Byrne, Michael F. A1 - Messmann, Helmut A1 - Ebigbo, Alanna T1 - Influence of artificial intelligence on the diagnostic performance of endoscopists in the assessment of Barrett’s esophagus: a tandem randomized and video trial JF - Endoscopy N2 - Background This study evaluated the effect of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based clinical decision support system on the performance and diagnostic confidence of endoscopists in their assessment of Barrett’s esophagus (BE). Methods 96 standardized endoscopy videos were assessed by 22 endoscopists with varying degrees of BE experience from 12 centers. Assessment was randomized into two video sets: group A (review first without AI and second with AI) and group B (review first with AI and second without AI). Endoscopists were required to evaluate each video for the presence of Barrett’s esophagus-related neoplasia (BERN) and then decide on a spot for a targeted biopsy. After the second assessment, they were allowed to change their clinical decision and confidence level. Results AI had a stand-alone sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 92.2%, 68.9%, and 81.3%, respectively. Without AI, BE experts had an overall sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 83.3%, 58.1%, and 71.5%, respectively. With AI, BE nonexperts showed a significant improvement in sensitivity and specificity when videos were assessed a second time with AI (sensitivity 69.8% [95%CI 65.2%–74.2%] to 78.0% [95%CI 74.0%–82.0%]; specificity 67.3% [95%CI 62.5%–72.2%] to 72.7% [95%CI 68.2%–77.3%]). In addition, the diagnostic confidence of BE nonexperts improved significantly with AI. Conclusion BE nonexperts benefitted significantly from additional AI. BE experts and nonexperts remained significantly below the stand-alone performance of AI, suggesting that there may be other factors influencing endoscopists’ decisions to follow or discard AI advice. KW - Artificial Intelligence KW - Endoscopy KW - Medical Image Computing Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-72818 VL - 56 SP - 641 EP - 649 PB - Georg Thieme Verlag CY - Stuttgart ER -