Suchergebnisse

Currently there is no FDA-licensed vaccine or therapeutic against Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV) infections. The largest ever reported 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak, as well as the 2021 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, highlight the critical need for countermeasures against filovirus infections. A well-characterized small animal model that is susceptible to wild-type filoviruses would greatly add to the screening of antivirals and vaccines. Here, we infected signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 knock out (STAT-1 KO) mice with five different wildtype filoviruses to determine susceptibility. SUDV and Marburg virus (MARV) were the most virulent, and caused 100% or 80% lethality, respectively. Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV), Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV), and Taï Forest ebolavirus (TAFV) caused 40%, 20%, and no mortality, respectively. Further characterization of SUDV in STAT-1 KO mice demonstrated lethality down to 3.1 × 10(1) pfu. Viral genomic material was detectable in serum as early as 1 to 2 days post-challenge. The onset of viremia was closely followed by significant changes in total white blood cells and proportion of neutrophils and lymphocytes, as well as by an influx of neutrophils in the liver and spleen. Concomitant significant fluctuations in blood glucose, albumin, globulin, and alanine aminotransferase were also noted, altogether consistent with other models of filovirus infection. Finally, favipiravir treatment fully protected STAT-1 KO mice from lethal SUDV challenge, suggesting that this may be an appropriate small animal model to screen anti-SUDV countermeasures.

Das durch das Umweltbundesamt geförderte Projekt befasst sich mit der Ressourceneffizienzsteigerung in der Metallindustrie in Hinblick auf die Substitution von Primärrohstoffen, die im Recyclingprozess zur Verdünnung unerwünschter Begleitelemente beim Recycling eine wesentliche Rolle spielen. Das damit einhergehend Downcycling soll mittels innovativer Sortiertechniken (Kamera-/Sensorsysteme) vermindert und der Recyclingprozess von metallischen Legierungen durch eine höhere Trennschärfe deutlich verbessert werden. Der Fokus der Untersuchungen liegt in diesem Projekt auf der Untersuchung eines legierungsspezifischen Recyclings von Stahl-, Aluminium-, Kupfer- und Zinkschrotten. Hier soll der Vergleich verschiedener Schrottfraktionen vor bzw. nach innovativen Analyse- bzw. Sortier- und Separier-Prozessen neue Erkenntnisse liefern. Darüber hinaus werden definitorische Grundlagen sowie Steuerungsgrößen für Up- und Downcycling und Regeln für sortenarmes Design erarbeitet. Auf Grundlage der Analyseergebnisse werden politische Empfehlungen zur besseren Erschließung bisher nicht genutzter, hochwertiger Metallpotenziale erarbeitet. Zu den Bewertungsmaßstäben gehören die Einsparpotenziale von primären Rohstoffen und damit Treibhausgasemissionen sowie die Kostenstruktur für die Herstellung von möglichst hochwertigen Legierungen aus Rezyklaten. Eine erfolgreiche, das heißt mit minimalen Downcycling-Prozessen "belastete" Bereitstellung von sekundären Rohstoffen erfordert eine umfassende Wissensbasis über die wissenschaftlichen Hintergründe von Downcycling, bestehende Recyclingstrukturen und verwendete Sortiertechniken, technologische Potenziale, metallurgische Prozesssimulationen und Bewertungsansätzen von Recyclingprozessen, die im Rahmen dieses Projektes entwickelt und genutzt werden.

Do governments take the measures that are supported by the best scientific evidence available? We present a brief review of the situation in: Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Our findings show surprisingly similar developments across countries. While all seven countries are moving towards evidence-based decision making regarding policies and programs to prevent violence, there remain a number of difficulties before this end can be achieved. For example, there continue to be few randomized controlled trials or rigorous quasi-experimental studies on aggression and violence. Results from experimental research are essential to both policy makers and researchers to determine the effectiveness of programs as well as increase our knowledge of the problem. Additionally, all noted that media attention for violence is high in their country, often leading to management by crisis with the result that policies are not based on evidence, but instead seek to appease public outrage. And perhaps because of attendant organizational problems (i.e., in many countries violence prevention was not under the guise of one particular agency or ministry), most have not developed a coordinated policy focusing on the prevention of violence and physical aggression. It is hypothesized that leaders in democratic countries, who must run for election every 4 to 6 years, may feel a need to focus on short-term planning rather than long-term preventive policies since the costs, but not the benefits for the latter would be incurred while they still served in office. We also noted a general absence of expertise beyond those within scientific circles. The need for these ideas to be more widely accepted will be an essential ingredient to real and sustaining change. This means that there must be better communication and increased understanding between researchers and policy makers. Toward those ends, the recent establishment of the Campbell Collaboration, formed to provide international systematic reviews of program effectiveness, will make these results more available and accessible to politicians, administrators and those charged with making key policy decisions

Metadata annotation guarantees sustainability of research data as it ensures their long-term findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability. Within the Helmholtz Association, the Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration (HMC) coordinates the mission to enrich Helmholtz-based research data with metadata by providing (information about) technical solutions, consultations and ensuring uniform scientific standards for the use of metadata.

In 2021 HMC conducted its first community survey to align its services with the needs of Helmholtz researchers. A question catalogue, with 49 (sub-)questions based on an expertise-adaptive approach, was designed and disseminated among researchers in all six Helmholtz research fields. 631 completed survey replies were obtained for analysis.

The HMC Community Survey 2021 provides insight into the management of research data as well as the data publication practices of researchers in the Helmholtz Association. The characterization of research-field-dependent communities will enable HMC to further develop targeted, community-driven support for the documentation of research data with metadata.