[Use of support and relief services for parents of children in need of care: Results of the FamBer observational study]. / Inanspruchnahme von Unterstützungs- und Entlastungsdiensten für Eltern pflegebedürftiger Kinder.

Use of support and relief services for parents of children in need of care: Results of the FamBer observational study Abstract: Background: Parents of children in need of care in Germany can fall back on a variety of relief and support services. So far, however, there has been a lack of systematic studies and quantitative data on the use of such offers at the individual level of parents and other legal guardians. Aim: The study on the compatibility of care and work for parents with a child in need of care (FamBer; funding: Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Germany) examines the knowledge of relief and support services, their use and the perceived benefits of these offers. Methods: 1070 parents answered a multidimensional online questionnaire in the cross-sectional study that was developed based on the Kindernetzwerk Study 2 from 2013 and the German socio-economic panel (SOEP). In addition to descriptive analyses, group comparisons were carried out using Chi2, Mann-Whitney U or Kruskal-Wallis H tests. Results: 43 to 58% of parents are aware of the respective legal options for taking time off work, but only very few families make use of them. The other support offers differ significantly in terms of the level of knowledge and utilization; these vary primarily with the education of the parents and the care needs of the child. They assessed the used services for consultation and advice as only little helpful. Conclusions: Due to the study design, we cannot rule out that the findings are also based on personal characteristics of the parents and their living conditions. Nevertheless, a large number of problems (e.g. a lack of information, low using, ineffectiveness of support services) can be identified that need to be overcome.

The First High-Pressure Chromium Oxonitridoborate CrB4 O6 N-an Unexpected Link to Nitridosilicate Chemistry.

CrB4 O6 N crystallizes in the non-centrosymmetric space group P63 mc (no. 186) with the lattice parameters a=5.1036(1), c=8.3519(3) Å, and a volume of 188.40(1) Å3 . It was synthesized in a high-pressure/high-temperature experiment at 7 GPa and 1673 K and represents the first high-pressure oxonitridoborate. It is built up of starlike-shaped entities of four BO3 N tetrahedra, connected via one common nitrogen atom that resembles the fourfold-coordinated nitrogen atoms in the homeotypic nitridosilicates MYbSi4 N7 (M=Sr, Ba). Building up a network with channels that contain the Cr3+ ions, CrB4 O6 N contains for the first time a tetrahedral building unit in contrast to trigonal planar B(O/N)3 entities in all other known oxonitridoborates. The structural relations as well as the results of spectroscopic measurements and calculations on the chromium oxonitridoborate are discussed.

Polymorphs of the Gadolinite-Type Borates ZrB2 O5 and HfB2 O5 Under Extreme Pressure.

Based on the results from previous high-pressure experiments on the gadolinite-type mineral datolite, CaBSiO4 (OH), the behavior of the isostructural borates ß-HfB2 O5 and ß-ZrB2 O5 have been studied by synchrotron-based in situ high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments. On compression to 120 GPa, both borate layer-structures are preserved. Additionally, at ≈114 GPa, the formation of a second phase can be observed in both compounds. The new high-pressure modification γ-ZrB2 O5 features a rearrangement of the corner-sharing BO4 tetrahedra, while still maintaining the four- and eight-membered rings. The new phase γ-HfB2 O5 contains ten-membered rings including the rare structural motif of edge-sharing BO4 tetrahedra with exceptionally short B-O and B⋅⋅⋅B distances. For both structures, unusually high coordination numbers are found for the transition metal cations, with ninefold coordinated Hf4+ , and tenfold coordinated Zr4+ , respectively. These findings remarkably show the potential of cold compression as a low-energy pathway to discover metastable structures that exhibit new coordinations and structural motifs.

La3 B6 O13 (OH): The First Acentric High-Pressure Borate Displaying Edge-Sharing BO4 Tetrahedra.

La3 B6 O13 (OH) was obtained by a high-pressure/high-temperature experiment at 6 GPa and 1673 K. The compound crystallizes in the space group P21 (no. 4) with the lattice parameters a=4.785(2), b=12.880(4), c=7.433(3) Å, and ß=90.36(10)°, and is built up of corner- as well as edge-sharing BO4 tetrahedra. It represents the first acentric high-pressure borate containing these B2 O6 entities. The compound develops borate layers of "sechser"-rings with the La3+ cations positioned between the layers. Single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, vibrational and MAS NMR spectroscopy, second-harmonic generation (SHG) and thermoanalytical measurements, as well as computational methods were used to affirm the proposed structure and the B2 O6 entities.

[Development and implementation of an outpatient clinic at an initial reception centre for asylum seekers in the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg]. / Entwicklung und Implementierung einer Medizinischen Ambulanz in einer Erstaufnahmeeinrichtung für Asylsuchende des Landes Baden-Württemberg.

In 2015, more than 890,000 asylum seekers were registered in Germany. The provision of medical and psychosocial care for asylum seekers is facing numerous obstacles. Access to health care is mostly insufficient, particularly in initial reception centres. The present article describes the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary outpatient clinic for asylum seekers at the main registration authority in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg operated by physicians of the University Hospital of Heidelberg and the local Medical Association in Heidelberg. A steering committee was appointed to plan and implement the interdisciplinary outpatient clinic. Semi-structured interviews with nine steering committee members were conducted to elucidate perceived barriers during the planning and implementation phase. The steering committee's strong personal commitment and the health authorities' impartial management were cited as the main contributing factors to the success of the implementation process. Significant barriers were seen in the funding of personnel, equipment, and language mediation as well as in legal liability and billing-related aspects. Results are discussed with a focus on financing, administrative and legal framework as well as language mediation, documentation and further matters that are essential to ensure high-quality care.

Born blonde: a recessive loss-of-function mutation in the melanocortin 1 receptor is associated with cream coat coloration in Antarctic fur seals.

Although the genetic basis of color variation has been extensively studied in humans and domestic animals, the genetic polymorphisms responsible for different color morphs remain to be elucidated in many wild vertebrate species. For example, hypopigmentation has been observed in numerous marine mammal species but the underlying mutations have not been identified. A particularly compelling candidate gene for explaining color polymorphism is the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), which plays a key role in the regulation of pigment production. We therefore used Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) as a highly tractable marine mammal system with which to test for an association between nucleotide variation at the MC1R and melanin-based coat color phenotypes. By sequencing 70 wild-type individuals with dark-colored coats and 26 hypopigmented individuals with cream-colored coats, we identified a nonsynonymous mutation that results in the substitution of serine with phenylalanine at an evolutionarily highly conserved structural domain. All of the hypopigmented individuals were homozygous for the allele coding for phenylalanine, consistent with a recessive loss-of-function allele. In order to test for cryptic population structure, which can generate artefactual associations, and to evaluate whether homozygosity at the MC1R could be indicative of low genome-wide heterozygosity, we also genotyped all of the individuals at 50 polymorphic microsatellite loci. We were unable to detect any population structure and also found that wild-type and hypopigmented individuals did not differ significantly in their standardized multilocus heterozygosity. Such a lack of association implies that hypopigmented individuals are unlikely to suffer disproportionately from inbreeding depression, and hence, we have no reason to believe that they are at a selective disadvantage in the wider population.

The effect of six months of elastic band resistance training, nutritional supplementation or cognitive training on chromosomal damage in institutionalized elderly.

Increased DNA and chromosomal damage are linked to aging and age-related diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes or cancer. Physical activity and an optimal status of micro- and macronutrients are known to reduce the incidence of MN, a marker for chromosomal instability and mutagenicity. Once older people reach a certain age they change from a home-living situation to an institutionalized situation, which is often accompanied by malnutrition, depression and inactivity. We conducted the current study to investigate the effect of a six month progressive resistance training (RT), with or without protein and vitamin supplementation (RTS) or cognitive training (CT) only, on chromosomal damage measured by the cytokinesis block micronucleus cytome assay in 97 Austrian institutionalized women and men (65-98years). All three intervention groups demonstrated a tendency of a reduced frequency of cells with MN (-15%) as well as for the total number of MN (-20%), however no significant time-effect was observed. Besides a significant increase in plasma B12 and red blood cell folate status, the six month change of B12 was negatively correlated with the six month change of the MN frequency in the RTS group (r=-0.584, p=0.009). Our results suggest that in this age group either physical or cognitive training may result in similar biochemical changes and therefore enhance resistance against genomic instability. Supplementation with the vitamins B12 and folic acid could contribute to reduced chromosomal damage in institutionalized elderly.

Decrease in eccentric quadriceps and hamstring strength in recreational alpine skiers after prolonged skiing.

BACKGROUND: To effectively prevent injury in recreational alpine skiing, it is important to identify modifiable risk factors that can be targeted through exercise and training. Fatigue is a potential risk factor in recreational skiing, but no investigations have evaluated concentric/eccentric quadriceps and hamstring fatigue in recreational skiers. We tested the hypothesis that recreational skiing is associated with more pronounced eccentric as compared with concentric muscle fatigue. METHODS: Twenty-four healthy and fit recreational skiers (14 male and 10 female) performed an isokinetic muscle test 1 day before, 1 h after, and 24 h after a 4 h skiing session. The testing protocol consisted of concentric and eccentric quadriceps and hamstring contractions for both legs. RESULTS: Eccentric peak hamstring torque (both thighs) and eccentric peak quadriceps torque (left thigh) were reduced in male and female participants (p<0.05). Reduced peak torques were still present 24 h after the skiing session. There were no other significant findings. SUMMARY: Recreational skiing is associated with prolonged (at least 24 h) eccentric quadriceps (left thigh) and hamstring (both thighs) fatigue in men and women. Eccentric quadriceps and hamstring fatigue may be a potential injury risk factor in male and female recreational skiers. This provides some justification for judicious use of additional eccentric training modalities for alpine skiing.