[Adaptation of infection protection measures in public services due to the COVID-19 pandemic]. / Anpassung der Infektionsschutzmaßnahmen im öffentlichen Dienst aufgrund der COVID-19-Pandemie: Handlungsempfehlungen für technische, organisatorische und persönliche Schutzmaßnahmen zur Reduktion der Infektionsausbreitung von SARS-CoV-2.

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the requirements for occupational health and safety in the workplace. The aim of the measures implemented nationwide is to reduce the spread of the virus. This applies to all areas of life, including the workplace. The "public service" includes many system-relevant occupational groups: police, fire brigade, judiciary, municipal cleaning, waterworks and administrative bodies at local and state levels. There is a broad diversity of activities in communal and federal state enterprises, especially with regard to internal organisation as well as personnel and spatial conditions. Direct interactions with people are often necessary. Maintaining the functionality of these structures is essential for public life. Education institutions and care facilities for children, people with handicaps and vulnerable groups, institutions for nursing and geriatric care as well as public transport are not covered in this statement due to their special work structures. These recommendations address the professionally accountable in the respective public service institutions. It deals with infection control measures at work in the public service, derived from the risk assessments of various settings. The measures presented can be implemented as part of an operational concept for temporary infection control measures. The aim is to provide general guidance on infection protection with respect to work situations in order to slow down the dissemination of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), to protect at-risk groups, and ensure the functioning of the aforementioned structures.

[Classroom teaching at universities and colleges under the conditions of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic]. / Präsenzlehre an Universitäten und Hochschulen unter den Bedingungen der SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie: Empfehlungen zu technischen, organisatorischen und persönlichen Schutzmaßnahmen im Rahmen des Arbeitsschutzes.

In order to maintain university teaching while observing the distance rules in accordance with the occupational health and safety standard of the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), special regulations and measures must be observed under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic when students and teaching staff meet in large groups (lecture hall) and small teaching rooms (seminars, internships). The article gives detailed recommendations for the practical implementation of protective and preventive measures according to the STOP principle, which is customary in occupational health and safety: substitution, technical, organisational and personal protective measures. Responsibilities are named and also difficult situations where physical proximity is necessary (e.g. teaching medical examinations, joint laboratory work, sports and dance seminars) are analysed with regard to the necessary measures; recommendations are formulated.

Comparison of tear protein levels in breast cancer patients and healthy controls using a de novo proteomic approach.

Noninvasive biomarkers are urgently needed for early detection of breast cancer since the risk of recurrence, morbidity and mortality are closely related to disease stage at the time of primary surgery. In the past decade, many proteomics-based approaches were developed that utilize the protein profiling of human body fluids or identification of putative biomarkers to obtain more knowledge on the effects of cancer emergence and progression. Herein, we report on an analysis of proteins in the tear fluid from breast carcinoma patients and healthy women using a de novo proteomic approach and 25 mixed samples from each group. This study included 25 patients with primary invasive breast carcinoma and 25 age-matched healthy controls. We performed a MALDI-TOF-TOF-driven semi-quantitative comparison of tear protein levels in cancer (CA) and control (CTRL) using a de novo approach in pooled samples. Over 150 proteins in the tear fluid of CTRL and CA were identified. Using an in-house-developed algorithm we found more than 20 proteins distinctly upregulated or downregulated in the CTRL and CA groups. We identified several proteins that had modified expression in breast cancer patients. These proteins are involved in host immune system pathways (e.g., C1Q1 or S100A8) and different metabolic cascades (ALDH3A or TPI). Further validation of the results in an independent population combined with individual protein profiling of participants is needed to confirm the specificity of our findings and may lead to a better understanding of the pathological mechanism of breast cancer.