Hasil untuk "History of Germany"

Marijn Eversdijk, Babette J.W. van der Eerden, Dick L. Willems et al.

Background: Smartwatch-based solutions for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) detection are increasingly explored to enhance survival outcomes, especially in unwitnessed cases. However, the perspectives of community responders, who play a critical role in early responding to resuscitation alerts, are not yet known. Exploring their current experiences and perspectives on this new technology is important for successfully developing and integrating these innovations into existing resuscitation systems. Methods: Four semi-structured focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 15 community responders in the Netherlands, recruited through the national cardiac arrest emergency network. Each FGD comprised two discussion topics: (1) integrating smartwatch-based OHCA detection into the current resuscitation system and (2) mitigating the burden of this technology on community responders. Verbatim transcripts were inductively coded for recurring themes. Results: The FGDs revealed 54 unique codes that were grouped into four themes: (1) Missing information about the cause of the alert; (2) decision-making regarding accepting the alert, (3) challenges in reaching the location and (4) availability of aftercare for community responders. Conclusion: This study identifies target topics that require attention in order to optimise community responders involvement in the implementation of smartwatch-based OHCA detection. Community responders indicated communication with the emergency dispatch centre, training with smartwatch-initiated scenarios and opt-in functionalities for responding to potential impactful situations as key factors to enhance the acceptability and feasibility. These factors ultimately aim to facilitate faster and more effective resuscitation following smartwatch-initiated alerts.

Kyung Min Lee, Hermann Staude, Sille Holm et al.

ABSTRACT The evolutionary dynamics of diurnal Aletis moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Sterrhinae) in the Afrotropics have been obscured by their allopatric distributions, significant inter‐ and intraspecific variation in adult and caterpillar phenotypes, and involvement in complex mimicry systems. Extensive phenotypic disparity, alongside conserved genital morphology and a lack of suitable material for genomic studies, has complicated species delineation. To elucidate species boundaries within Aletis, as well as explore their evolutionary history, divergence times, and patterns of population genetic structure, we collected fresh specimens of both caterpillars and adults across the Aletis distribution in South Africa and Uganda. We then conducted analyses using mitochondrial DNA and genome‐wide SNP data from ddRAD sequencing. Our finding supports the hypothesis of five distinct species in the study areas: Aletis variabilis, A. helcita, A. erici, A. libyssa and A. concolor. The mtDNA divergences range from 4.2% to 11.5%, while genomic data indicating diversification began 0.9 million years ago (Mya), and more recent divergence events occurred between 0.35 and 0.27 Mya. In eastern South Africa, we identified distinct northern and southern genetic lineages, potentially shaped by Pleistocene isolation influenced by climate, whereas in Uganda, habitat and/or altitudinal variation appears to play a key role in their isolation. Notable genetic admixture was found within both northern and southern South African regions, along with gene flow from Uganda to northern South Africa, and extensive internal gene flow among southern populations. We conclude that habitat fragmentation, leading to the patchy occurrence of caterpillar host plants, has contributed to increased genetic isolation and allopatric speciation. We also emphasize the critical conservation needs for preserving genetic diversity, which is essential for resilience in the rapidly changing Afrotropical landscape.

Azzah Alshehri, Jan Bürger, Saransh Chopra et al.

The second PyHEP.dev workshop, part of the "Python in HEP Developers" series organized by the HEP Software Foundation (HSF), took place in Aachen, Germany, from August 26 to 30, 2024. This gathering brought together nearly 30 Python package developers, maintainers, and power users to engage in informal discussions about current trends in Python, with a primary focus on analysis tools and techniques in High Energy Physics (HEP). The workshop agenda encompassed a range of topics, such as defining the scope of HEP data analysis, exploring the Analysis Grand Challenge project, evaluating statistical models and serialization methods, assessing workflow management systems, examining histogramming practices, and investigating distributed processing tools like RDataFrame, Coffea, and Dask. Additionally, the workshop dedicated time to brainstorming the organization of future PyHEP.dev events, upholding the tradition of alternating between Europe and the United States as host locations. This document, prepared by the session conveners in the weeks following the workshop, serves as a summary of the key discussions, salient points, and conclusions that emerged.

Irem Islek, Sule Gunduz Oguducu

Recommendation systems can provide accurate recommendations by analyzing user shopping history. A richer user history results in more accurate recommendations. However, in real applications, users prefer e-commerce platforms where the item they seek is at the lowest price. In other words, most users shop from multiple e-commerce platforms simultaneously; different parts of the user's shopping history are shared between different e-commerce platforms. Consequently, we assume in this study that any e-commerce platform has a complete record of the user's history but can only access some parts of it. If a recommendation system is able to predict the missing parts first and enrich the user's shopping history properly, it will be possible to recommend the next item more accurately. Our recommendation system leverages user shopping history to improve prediction accuracy. The proposed approach shows significant improvements in both NDCG@10 and HR@10.

Anu Kannike

Teesid: Artikkel käsitleb Eesti naisliikumise eesmärke, tegevussuundi ja tegevuse tulemusi Saksa okupatsiooni (1941–1944) aegse argielu kontekstis. Uurimus tugineb Kodumajandusameti materjalidele Rahvusarhiivis, ametlikele dokumentidele ja ajakirjandusele. Naisliikumise korraldajad kohandusid okupatsioonivõimu struktuuride ja rahastusprioriteetidega ning nende propagandasuundadega, mis haakusid argise toimetuleku ja tsiviliseeriv-ratsionaalsete eesmärkidega – säästlikkus, isetegemine ja isevarustamine, otstarbekas kodukorraldus. Nad säilitasid 1930. aastail välja kujunenud rahvusliku, ent ühtlasi moderniseerumist edendava ja sotsiaalkriitilise hoiaku, millele lisandusid teatud soolise võrdõigusluse nõuded.   Life during the Second World War in Estonia has mainly been studied from the viewpoints of military history, human losses and crimes against humanity, administrative arrangements, and propaganda. There are no comprehensive academic studies of everyday life or the women’s movement. The article provides a preliminary view of women’s initiatives in organising everyday life and counselling during the period of German occupation (1941–1944), focusing on the activities of the Home Economics Office. The analysis is based on manuscripts and documents from the Estonian National Archives, the media, and other official documents. As the economic priority of the occupation authorities was to support the front, the civil population suffered from a lack of industrial goods and food products, fuel and electricity. In December 1941, a system of food rationing was introduced and farms were obliged to sell their products to the state. People had to rely on an extensive system of natural economy and exchange between the city and the countryside, saving methods and substitute products. Social assistance was built on local pre-war experiences and structures, but also on new organisations that followed the patterns of Nazi Germany. An umbrella organisation was set up called Joint Assistance of the Estonian People (Eesti Rahva Ühisabi) which organised collection campaigns and delivered aid to families in need as well as soldiers at the front. The ERÜ was integrated into the power structures of the German occupation authorities, although its rhetoric also emphasised the need to enforce the Estonian national spirit and the people’s vitality. Women played a significant role in the efforts to normalise everyday life. In September 1941, the Office of Home Economics was established. This meant a restoration of the structure of the pre-war Chamber of Home Economics (1936–1940), thus the chief women’s organisation did not rely on a model imported from Germany. Through its network of local consultants the office arranged lectures and courses for women. Due to its subordination to and financing through the Board of Agriculture, the main target group was country women. For example, from early 1942 to early 1943 it delivered about 400 courses to about 8,000 participants and 535 lectures to about 12,000 participants. Home economics experts also delivered advice in the media. The most topical theme was saving, which was also in the focus of the occupation authorities’ official consumption policy. Several exhibitions introduced rational methods of production and consumption, which also served the interests of Nazi propaganda. The Office of Home Economics published leaflets and booklets on nutrition, household laundry, dye plants, etc. Housewives were convinced to cook and eat more vegetarian dishes, although they were not counselled to abandon meat altogether. In addition, nutritional issues were not politicised, unlike in Germany where “natural eating“ became one of the main ideas of fascist biopolitics. The Woman’s Journal (1943–1944) was also an influential channel for advising and supporting women and homes. It was a predominantly nationally minded journal that largely ignored official propaganda. There are no articles praising life in Germany or the achievements of German women, as were published frequently in the dailies. The advice is practical and, speaking to women, the authors do not underline their obligations but try to support their spirit and keep alive hope for a better future.             The main efforts of the Office of Home Economics were focused on improving women’s situations by reducing their workloads and making their domestic work more effective. For this purpose, the Office launched long-term field studies in farms all over Estonia. Office consultants documented the use of time, with the results indicating that women had excessive workloads and that there was a lack of measures to alleviate this. In 1942, Aino Käsper, deputy head of the Office, published a book in which she made suggestions for organising women’s work on farms in a more rational manner. She described improvements that could be made by better planning of buildings, solving technical problems, and abandoning the traditional gendered division of work and making more investments in the comforts needed for women.             During the period of German occupation, the women’s movement in Estonia adapted to the structures and financing priorities of the German authorities. At the same time, the opinion leaders of this movement clearly prioritised everyday coping strategies – saving, self-provisioning, rational organisation of homes and housework. They maintained their pre-war nationally minded, yet socially critical, attitudes, aiming to empower women even at a time of crisis.

Sandrine Musa, Theo Hemberle, Staffan Bensch et al.

Avian haemosporidian parasites are useful model organisms to study the ecology and evolution of parasite-host interactions due to their global distribution and extensive biodiversity. Detection of these parasites has evolved from microscopic examination to PCR-based methods, with the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene serving as barcoding region. However, standard PCR protocols used for screening and identification purposes have limitations in detecting mixed infections and generating phylogenetically informative data due to short amplicon lengths. To address these issues, we developed a novel genus-specific nested PCR protocol targeting avian haemosporidian parasites. The protocol underwent rigorous testing utilizing a large dataset comprising blood samples from Malagasy birds of three distinct Passeriformes families. Furthermore, validation was done by examining smaller datasets in two other laboratories employing divergent master mixes and different bird species. Comparative analyses were conducted between the outcomes of the novel PCR protocol and those obtained through the widely used standard nested PCR method. The novel protocol enables specific identification of Plasmodium, Haemoproteus (Parahaemoproteus), and Leucocytozoon parasites. The analyses demonstrated comparable sensitivity to the standard nested PCR with notable improvements in detecting mixed infections. In addition, phylogenetic resolution is improved by amplification of longer fragments, leading to a better understanding of the haemosporidian biodiversity and evolution. Overall, the novel protocol represents a valuable addition to avian haemosporidian detection methodologies, facilitating comprehensive studies on parasite ecology, epidemiology, and evolution.

Tong Zhang, Yong Liu, Boyang Li et al.

With the evolution of pre-trained language models, current open-domain dialogue systems have achieved great progress in conducting one-session conversations. In contrast, Multi-Session Conversation (MSC), which consists of multiple sessions over a long term with the same user, is under-investigated. In this paper, we propose History-Aware Hierarchical Transformer (HAHT) for multi-session open-domain dialogue. HAHT maintains a long-term memory of history conversations and utilizes history information to understand current conversation context and generate well-informed and context-relevant responses. Specifically, HAHT first encodes history conversation sessions hierarchically into a history memory. Then, HAHT leverages historical information to facilitate the understanding of the current conversation context by encoding the history memory together with the current context with attention-based mechanisms. Finally, to explicitly utilize historical information, HAHT uses a history-aware response generator that switches between a generic vocabulary and a history-aware vocabulary. Experimental results on a large-scale MSC dataset suggest that the proposed HAHT model consistently outperforms baseline models. Human evaluation results support that HAHT generates more human-like, context-relevant and history-relevant responses than baseline models.

Danielle de Brito Silva, Paula Jofré, Patricia B. Tissera et al.

Phylogenetic methods have long been used in biology, and more recently have been extended to other fields - for example, linguistics and technology - to study evolutionary histories. Galaxies also have an evolutionary history, and fall within this broad phylogenetic framework. Under the hypothesis that chemical abundances can be used as a proxy for interstellar medium's DNA, phylogenetic methods allow us to reconstruct hierarchical similarities and differences among stars - essentially a tree of evolutionary relationships and thus history. In this work, we apply phylogenetic methods to a simulated disc galaxy obtained with a chemo-dynamical code to test the approach. We found that at least 100 stellar particles are required to reliably portray the evolutionary history of a selected stellar population in this simulation, and that the overall evolutionary history is reliably preserved when the typical uncertainties in the chemical abundances are smaller than 0.08 dex. The results show that the shape of the trees are strongly affected by the age-metallicity relation, as well as the star formation history of the galaxy. We found that regions with low star formation rates produce shorter trees than regions with high star formation rates. Our analysis demonstrates that phylogenetic methods can shed light on the process of galaxy evolution.

G. Aad, B. Abbott, D.C. Abbott et al.

Constraints on the Higgs boson self-coupling are set by combining double-Higgs boson analyses in the bb¯bb¯, bb¯τ+τ− and bb¯γγ decay channels with single-Higgs boson analyses targeting the γγ, ZZ⁎, WW⁎, τ+τ− and bb¯ decay channels. The data used in these analyses were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton–proton collisions at s=13 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 126–139 fb−1. The combination of the double-Higgs analyses sets an upper limit of μHH<2.4 at 95% confidence level on the double-Higgs production cross-section normalised to its Standard Model prediction. Combining the single-Higgs and double-Higgs analyses, with the assumption that new physics affects only the Higgs boson self-coupling (λHHH), values outside the interval −0.4<κλ=(λHHH/λHHHSM)<6.3 are excluded at 95% confidence level. The combined single-Higgs and double-Higgs analyses provide results with fewer assumptions, by adding in the fit more coupling modifiers introduced to account for the Higgs boson interactions with the other Standard Model particles. In this relaxed scenario, the constraint becomes −1.4<κλ<6.1 at 95% CL.

Liudmila Shirokova

In 2022, a collection of articles "Modern Slovakistics – Coordinates and Vectors" was published, based on the materials of an international scientific conference that took place on 04/28/2021 in Sofia and was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the beginning of teaching of Slovak language at the University of St. Kliment Ohridsky. The authors of the articles – scholars and teachers from Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Germany – consider a whole range of problems related to teaching students in specialties related to the Slovak language, culture, literature, translation skills. The book uses two languages – Bulgarian and Slovak. The articles are grouped into four sections corresponding to the four main areas in Slovakian studies. The section "The Slovak language in the European context" examines the problems of history and current state of the language, its comparative and culturological aspects. The thematic spectrum of the section "Slovak literature in the European context" ranges from comparative studies and the links of literature with fine arts to trends in modern prose. The articles in the section "Slovak language and translation as a linguistic and cultural phenomenon" are devoted to the traditions of Slovak-Bulgarian literary translations, issues of adequacy and difficulties in translation work. The section "Teaching the Slovak language as a foreign language" contains articles on the peculiarities of the methodology of teaching the Slovak language at Slavic departments, on the problems of grammar of the Slovak language in theoretical and practical terms. A significant number of articles, the quality of research, and the breadth of the authors' professional interests testify to the importance of the interchange of cultural and spiritual values in the Slavic world.

Vishal Sunder, Samuel Thomas, Hong-Kwang J. Kuo et al.

Dialog history plays an important role in spoken language understanding (SLU) performance in a dialog system. For end-to-end (E2E) SLU, previous work has used dialog history in text form, which makes the model dependent on a cascaded automatic speech recognizer (ASR). This rescinds the benefits of an E2E system which is intended to be compact and robust to ASR errors. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical conversation model that is capable of directly using dialog history in speech form, making it fully E2E. We also distill semantic knowledge from the available gold conversation transcripts by jointly training a similar text-based conversation model with an explicit tying of acoustic and semantic embeddings. We also propose a novel technique that we call DropFrame to deal with the long training time incurred by adding dialog history in an E2E manner. On the HarperValleyBank dialog dataset, our E2E history integration outperforms a history independent baseline by 7.7% absolute F1 score on the task of dialog action recognition. Our model performs competitively with the state-of-the-art history based cascaded baseline, but uses 48% fewer parameters. In the absence of gold transcripts to fine-tune an ASR model, our model outperforms this baseline by a significant margin of 10% absolute F1 score.

A. E. Kulanov, A. B. Sharova

Due to the expiration of a number of previously classified materials related to the activities of the Soviet special services during the Second World War, and also due to the especially high public interest to “the case of Richard Sorge” within the last 5 years, a military historian and Doctor of Historical Sciences Mikhail A. Alekseev introduced a large number of previously unknown Russian- language documents on this case into scientific circulation. These documents are of exceptionally high interest to researchers. For example, it is the first time the published materials definitively answer questions on whether Sorge was a double agent, whether he reported to Moscow the exact date of the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union, and also what the real reason for the failure of the network of Soviet military intelligence in Japan in 1941 was. Soon after that, the authors of this article for the first time made a complete translation of the memoirs of Ishii Hanako, Sorge’s Japanese wife, which were analyzed in detail and commented on by the authors of the book Another Sorge. The Story of Ishii Hanako. The memoirs of Ishii Hanako give a chance to take a fresh look at Richard Sorge’s personality, his goals in studying Japan and his approaches to this issue, to form a more personal and, at the same time, objective picture of his character. Together with the case of the “Special Folder” of the Central Committee of the CPSU on perpetuating the memory of Richard Sorge, declassified in 2020, for the first time in history, these materials allow to fully estimate Ishii Hanako’s effort to preserve the memory of Sorge in Japan during the period from 1945 to 1964. By comparing the memoirs, the documents of the Soviet side, and by carrying out the research and analytical work, the authors have reached a new level of understanding of “the case of Richard Sorge”. In addition, a number of new materials devoted to the same case and revealing the level of awareness of not only the government and law enforcement agencies of this country, but also the emperor himself, as well as the division of powers of special services in the liquidation of Sorge’s intelligence network were published in Japan within the period of 2017–2022. However, for a number of reasons, in Russia, these documents remain poorly studied.

Lindsay Fernández-Rhodes, Mariaelisa Graff, Victoria L. Buchanan et al.

Hispanic/Latinos have been underrepresented in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for anthropometric traits despite their notable anthropometric variability, ancestry proportions, and high burden of growth stunting and overweight/obesity. To address this knowledge gap, we analyzed densely imputed genetic data in a sample of Hispanic/Latino adults to identify and fine-map genetic variants associated with body mass index (BMI), height, and BMI-adjusted waist-to-hip ratio (WHRadjBMI). We conducted a GWAS of 18 studies/consortia as part of the Hispanic/Latino Anthropometry (HISLA) Consortium (stage 1, n = 59,771) and generalized our findings in 9 additional studies (stage 2, n = 10,538). We conducted a trans-ancestral GWAS with summary statistics from HISLA stage 1 and existing consortia of European and African ancestries. In our HISLA stage 1 + 2 analyses, we discovered one BMI locus, as well as two BMI signals and another height signal each within established anthropometric loci. In our trans-ancestral meta-analysis, we discovered three BMI loci, one height locus, and one WHRadjBMI locus. We also identified 3 secondary signals for BMI, 28 for height, and 2 for WHRadjBMI in established loci. We show that 336 known BMI, 1,177 known height, and 143 known WHRadjBMI (combined) SNPs demonstrated suggestive transferability (nominal significance and effect estimate directional consistency) in Hispanic/Latino adults. Of these, 36 BMI, 124 height, and 11 WHRadjBMI SNPs were significant after trait-specific Bonferroni correction. Trans-ancestral meta-analysis of the three ancestries showed a small-to-moderate impact of uncorrected population stratification on the resulting effect size estimates. Our findings demonstrate that future studies may also benefit from leveraging diverse ancestries and differences in linkage disequilibrium patterns to discover novel loci and additional signals with less residual population stratification.

Priest Maksim V. Sorokin

The relationship between Vladimir Nikolaevich Beneshevich and the German historian and philologist Eduard Schwartz lasted for 25 years, starting from the international recognition of the Russian scientist and until his tragic death. E. Schwartz became an intermediary in many scientific projects for the Russian scientist. The matter of a lifetime of V. N. Beneshevich — publication of a corpus of texts of Byzantine law — was difficult to implement in post-revolutionary Russia, while in Germany it found support in the person of E. Schwartz. Repressions against V. N. Beneshevich interrupted him to carry out his scientific plans in full measure. As soon as the political situation in Germany changed in 1933, active scientific contacts of Beneshevich with the German scientist were labeled by Soviet authorities as espionage. The publication of the Synagogue of John Scholastikos in 1937 in Nazi Germany ultimately initiated the persecution of V. N. Beneshevich for political reasons, and he was shot in 1938. V. N. Beneshevich received world fame and universal recognition thanks to the assistance of E. Schwartz, but at the same time their cooperation became fatal for V. N. Beneshevich. The article reconstructs history of the long-term communication and cooperation of the two scientists. Previously unpublished correspondence, mainly the letters of V. N. Beneshevich from the E. Schwartz archive in Munich, introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, has supplemented numerous previous studies on the life and work of the Russian historian and canonist and become an important source of the history of the relationship between the scientists.

Wenshuang Bao, Atul Kathait, Xiang Li et al.

The critically endangered Yellow-breasted Bunting has undergone population collapse globally because of illegal hunting and habitat deterioration. It was listed as critically endangered (CR) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2017 and designated a Class I (highest level) national conservation bird species in China in 2021. Birdsong in the breeding season is the main communicative signal under sexual selection, and song variations have long been considered critical evidence of divergence among subspecies or populations. We compared the songs of 89 males from 18 populations to test subspecies taxonomy. We found that songs of the Yellow-breasted Bunting <i>Emberiza aureola</i> are subspecies specific and that three subspecies can be clearly discriminated by song divergences. Moreover, an analysis of multiple vocal traits supports the claim that <i>insulana</i> is distinct from <i>aureola</i> and <i>ornata</i>. Finally, at the geographic population level, populations can be clearly classified in accordance with the three subspecies, although the <i>aureola</i> population in Xinjiang, China is differentiated from other populations of the same subspecies. The results of this study demonstrate that all populations and subspecies are unique and should be protected to maintain intraspecies song diversity. In addition, several specific populations, such as <i>insulana</i> populations in Japan and the Xinjiang, China population of <i>aureola</i>, need to be paid special attention to prevent the extinction of unique or local taxa.

Karol Siemaszko

In a Provincial City in Western Poland. Concerning the Prosecutor’s Office of the District Court in Głogów with Its Seat in Nowa Sól (1945–1950) After World War II, a number of territories that had belonged to Germany before 1945 were incorpo­rated into those of the Polish state. The change of borders resulted in the need to build structures of the Polish judiciary and prosecutor’s offices in these territories. This article is devoted to describing the functioning of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Regional Court in Głogów with its seat in Nowa Sól. The history of this office is an example of how prosecutors’ offices operated in difficult post-war conditions in the recovered territories, as well as of relations between the prosecutors’ offices and other public authorities such as the Citizens’ Militia or the judiciary.

Lidia Staszewsky, Jennifer M. T. A. Meessen, Deborah Novelli et al.

Abstract Background Novel circulating biomarkers may help in understanding the underlying mechanisms of atrial fibrillation (AF), a challenge for AF management and prevention of cardiovascular (CV) events. Whether glycosylation affects the prognostic value of N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in AF is still unknown. Objectives To test how deglycosylated total NT-proBNP, NT-proBNP and a panel of biomarkers are associated with: (1) recurrent AF, (2) first hospitalization for CV reasons. Methods A total of 382 patients of the GISSI-AF trial in sinus rhythm with a history of AF, echocardiographic variables, total NT-proBNP, NT-proBNP and nine additional biomarkers [Total N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (Total NT proBNP), N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP), Angiopoietin 2 (Ang2), Bone morphogenic protein-10 (BMP10), Dickkopf-related protein-3 (DKK3), Endothelial cell specific molecule-1 (ESM1), Fatty acid-binding protein 3 (FABP3), Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF15), Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-7 (IGFBP7) and Myosin binding protein C3 (MYPBC3)]. were assayed at baseline, 6 and 12 months under blind conditions in a laboratory at Roche Diagnostics, Penzberg, Germany. The associations between circulating biomarkers and AF at the 6- and 12-month visits, and their predictive value, were assessed in multivariable models with logistic regression analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Biomarkers associations were modelled for 1SD increase in their level. Results Over a median follow-up of 365 days, 203/382 patients (53.1%) had at least one recurrence of AF and 16.3% were hospitalized for CV reasons. Total NT-proBNP, NT-proBNP, Ang2 and BMP10 showed the strongest associations with ongoing AF. Natriuretic peptides also predicted recurrent AF (total NT-proBNP: HR:1.19[1.04–1.36], p = 0.026; NT-proBNP: HR:1.19[1.06–1.35], p = 0.016; Ang2: HR:1.07[0.95–1.20], p = 0.283; BMP10: HR:1.09[0.96–1.25], p = 0.249) and CV hospitalization (total NT-proBNP: HR:1.57[1.29–1.90], p < 0.001 1.63], p = 0.097). Conclusions The association of total NT-proBNP with the risk of AF first recurrence was similar to that of NT-proBNP, suggesting no influence of glycosylation. Analogous results were obtained for the risk of first hospitalization for CV reasons. Natriuretic peptides, Ang2 and BMP10 were associated with ongoing AF. Findings from the last two biomarkers point to a pathogenic role of cardiac extracellular matrix and cardiomyocyte growth in the myocardium of the right atrium and ventricle.

Anne Schulz, Amelie Eder, Victor Tiberius et al.

Technological change and development have been ongoing in the motion picture industry since its beginnings some 125 years ago. What further advancements of digitalization can be expected over the next decade and what are its implications for the industry’s value chain? To answer this question, we conducted an international two-stage Delphi study. The results suggested a more frequent use of smartphones as cameras, the emergence of full digital film sets and digital star avatars, as well as advancements in VR-based and interactive movies. The findings imply challenges for traditional players in the motion picture value chain. Production technology becomes both simpler and more complex, leading to the threat of new entrants.

Derek Ruths, Caitrin Armstrong

The use of online user traces for studies of human mobility has received significant attention in recent years. This growing body of work, and the more general importance of human migration patterns to government and industry, motivates the need for a formalized approach to the computational modeling of human mobility - in particular how and when individuals change their place of residence - from online traces. Prior work on this topic has skirted the underlying computational modeling of residence inference, focusing on migration patterns themselves. As a result, to our knowledge, all prior work has employed heuristics to compute something like residence histories. Here, we formalize the residence assignment problem, which seeks, under constraints associated with the minimum length-of-stay at a residence, the most parsimonious sequence of residence periods and places that explains the movement history of an individual. Here we provide an exact solution for this problem and establish its algorithmic complexity. Because the calculation of optimal residence histories (under the assumptions of the model) is tractable, we believe that this method will be a valuable tool for future work on this topic.

Thomas Wieland

Aims: Nonpharmaceutical interventions against the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Germany included the cancellation of mass events (from March 8), closures of schools and child day care facilities (from March 16) as well as a "lockdown" (from March 23). This study attempts to assess the effectiveness of these interventions in terms of revealing their impact on infections over time. Methods: Dates of infections were estimated from official German case data by incorporating the incubation period and an empirical reporting delay. Exponential growth models for infections and reproduction numbers were estimated and investigated with respect to change points in the time series. Results: A significant decline of daily and cumulative infections as well as reproduction numbers is found at March 8 (CI [7, 9]), March 10 (CI [9, 11] and March 3 (CI [2, 4]), respectively. Further declines and stabilizations are found in the end of March. There is also a change point in new infections at April 19 (CI [18, 20]), but daily infections still show a negative growth. From March 19 (CI [18, 20]), the reproduction numbers fluctuate on a level below one. Conclusions: The decline of infections in early March 2020 can be attributed to relatively small interventions and voluntary behavioural changes. Additional effects of later interventions cannot be detected clearly. Liberalizations of measures did not induce a re-increase of infections. Thus, the effectiveness of most German interventions remains questionable. Moreover, assessing of interventions is impeded by the estimation of true infection dates and the influence of test volume.