Contexts constrain science in the public: How the sociobiology debate was (not) presented in the German press.

This article reports on a media study on the coverage of sociobiology (SB) in the German media. The analyses show a decoupling between the academic discussion and the German media coverage: when the scientific debates about SB were at their height (late 1970s), nearly no reporting occurred in the German press, whereas from the middle of the 1990s onwards, when the academic discussion had settled, SB was presented increasingly often. The case reveals the importance of cultural contexts in shaping popular science coverage, making SB a non-issue in the German media at the times of its most intense scientific debate. Factors contributing to this particular situation in German academia and popular culture are discussed. Comparisons with other studies show how the late renaissance of SB in Germany in the late 1990s is due to media attention towards the new biosciences.

Microbiological pathogen analysis in native versus periprosthetic joint infections: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: The presence or absence of an implant has a major impact on the type of joint infection therapy. Thus, the aim of this study was the examination of potential differences in the spectrum of pathogens in patients with periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) as compared to patients with native joint infections (NJI). METHODS: In this retrospective study, we evaluated culture-positive synovial fluid samples of 192 consecutive patients obtained from January 2018 to January 2020 in a tertiary care university hospital. For metrically distributed parameters, Mann-Whitney U was used for comparison between groups. In case of nominal data, crosstabs and Chi-squared tests were implemented. RESULTS: Overall, 132 patients suffered from periprosthetic joint infections and 60 patients had infections of native joints. The most commonly isolated bacteria were coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CNS, 28%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, 26.7%), and other bacteria, such as Streptococci (26.3%). We observed a significant dependence between the types of bacteria and the presence of a joint replacement (p < 0.05). Accordingly, detections of CNS occurred 2.5-fold more frequently in prosthetic as compared to native joint infections (33.9% vs. 13.4% p < 0.05). In contrast, S. aureus was observed 3.2-fold more often in NJIs as compared to PJIs (52.2% vs. 16.4%, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The pathogen spectra of periprosthetic and native joint infections differ considerably. However, CNS and S. aureus are the predominant microorganisms in both, PJIs and NJIs, which may guide antimicrobial therapy until microbiologic specification of the causative pathogen.

The Regional Advisory Councils: what is their potential to incorporate stakeholder knowledge into fisheries governance?

The protection of the Baltic Sea ecosystem is exacerbated by the social, environmental and economic complexities of governing European fisheries. Increased stakeholder participation and knowledge integration are suggested to improve the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), suffering from legitimacy, credibility and compliance problems. As a result, the CFP was revised in 2002 to involve fisheries representatives, NGOs and other stakeholders through so called Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) in the policy process. We address the RAC's task to incorporate stakeholder knowledge into the EU's fisheries governance system in empirical and theoretical perspectives. Drawing on a four-stage governance concept we subsequently suggest that a basic problem is a mismatch between participation purpose (knowledge inclusion) and the governance stage at which RACs are formally positioned (evaluation of management proposals). We conclude that, if the aim is to broaden the knowledge base of fisheries management, stakeholders need to be included earlier in the governance process.

Use of Activity Tracking in Major Visceral Surgery-the Enhanced Perioperative Mobilization Trial: a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Early mobilization is one essential item within the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) concept, but lacks solid evidence and a standardized assessment. The aim was to monitor and increase the postoperative mobilization of patients after major visceral surgery by providing a continuous step count feedback using activity tracking wristbands. METHODS: The study was designed as a randomized controlled single-center trial (NCT02834338) with two arms (open and laparoscopic surgery). Participants were randomized to either receive feedback of their step counts using an activity tracker wristband or not. The primary study endpoint was the mean step count during the first 5 postoperative days (PODs). RESULTS: A total of 132 patients were randomized. After laparoscopic operations, the average step count during PODs 1-5 was significantly increased by the feedback compared with the control group (P < 0.001); the cumulative step count (9867 versus 6103, P = 0.037) and activity time were also significantly increased. These results could not be confirmed in the open surgery arm. Possible reasons were a higher age and significantly more comorbidities in the open intervention group. Patients who achieved more than the median cumulative step count had a significantly shorter hospital stay and lower morbidity in both arms. The average step count also correlated with the length of hospital stay (R = - 0.341, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study is the first randomized controlled trial investigating the use and feasibility of activity tracking to monitor and enhance postoperative mobilization in abdominal surgery. Our results demonstrate that activity tracking can enhance perioperative mobilization after laparoscopic surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02834338.

Use of activity tracking in major visceral surgery-the Enhanced Perioperative Mobilization (EPM) trial: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs are aimed at minimizing postoperative stress and accelerating postoperative recovery by implementing multiple perioperative principles. "Early mobilization" is one such principle, but the quality of assessment and monitoring is poor, and evidence of improved outcome is lacking. Activity trackers allow precise monitoring and automatic feedback to the patients to enhance their motivation for early mobilization. The aim of the study is to monitor and increase the postoperative mobilization of patients by giving them continuous automatic feedback in the form of a step count using activity-tracking wristbands. METHODS/DESIGN: Patients undergoing elective open and laparoscopic surgery of the colon, rectum, stomach, pancreas, and liver for any indication will be included. Further inclusion criteria are age between 18 and 75 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status class less than IV, and a signed informed consent form. Patients will be stratified into two subgroups, laparoscopic and open surgery, and will be randomized 1:1 for automatic feedback of their step count using an activity tracker wristband. The control group will have no automatic feedback. The sample size (n = 30 patients in each of the four groups, overall n = 120) is calculated on the basis of an assumed difference in step count of 250 steps daily (intervention group versus control group). The primary study endpoint is the average step count during the first 5 postoperative days; secondary endpoints are the percentage of patients in the two groups who master the predefined mobilization (step count) targets, assessment of additional activity data obtained from the devices, assessment of preoperative mobility, length of hospital and intensive care unit stays, number of patients who receive physiotherapy, 30-day mortality, and overall 30-day morbidity. DISCUSSION: Early mobilization is a key element of ERAS. However, enhanced early mobilization is difficult to define, to assess objectively, and to implement in clinical practice. Consequently, there is a discrepancy between ERAS targets and actual practice, especially in patients undergoing major visceral surgery. This study is the first randomized controlled trial investigating the use and feasibility of activity tracking to monitor and enhance postoperative early mobilization. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02834338 . Registered on 15 June 2016.