Culture, risk factors and mortality: can Switzerland add missing pieces to the European puzzle?

BACKGROUND: The aim was to compare cause-specific mortality, self-rated health (SRH) and risk factors in the French and German part of Switzerland and to discuss to what extent variations between these regions reflect differences between France and Germany. METHODS: Data were used from the general population of German and French Switzerland with 2.8 million individuals aged 45-74 years, contributing 176 782 deaths between 1990 and 2000. Adjusted mortality risks were calculated from the Swiss National Cohort, a longitudinal census-based record linkage study. Results were contrasted with cross-sectional analyses of SRH and risk factors (Swiss Health Survey 1992/3) and with cross-sectional national and international mortality rates for 1980, 1990 and 2000. RESULTS: Despite similar all-cause mortality, there were substantial differences in cause-specific mortality between Swiss regions. Deaths from circulatory disease were more common in German Switzerland, while causes related to alcohol consumption were more prevalent in French Switzerland. Many but not all of the mortality differences between the two regions could be explained by variations in risk factors. Similar patterns were found between Germany and France. CONCLUSION: Characteristic mortality and behavioural differentials between the German- and the French-speaking parts of Switzerland could also be found between Germany and France. However, some of the international variations in mortality were not in line with the Swiss regional comparison nor with differences in risk factors. These could relate to peculiarities in assignment of cause of death. With its cultural diversity, Switzerland offers the opportunity to examine cultural determinants of mortality without bias due to different statistical systems or national health policies.

Characterization of microfluidic systems with Doppler optical coherence tomography

Doppler Optical Coherence Tomography (DOCT) is a biomedical imaging technique that allows simultaneous structural imaging and flow monitoring inside biological tissues and materials with spatial resolution in the micrometer scale. It has recently been applied to the characterization of microfluidic systems. Structural and flow imaging of novel microfluidics platforms for cytotoxicologic applications were obtained with a real-time, Near Infrared Spectral Domain DOCT system. Characteristics such as flow homogeneity in the chamber, which is one of the most important parameters for cell culture, are investigated. OCT and DOCT images were used to monitor flow inside a specific platform that is based on microchannel division for a better flow homogeneity. In particular, the evolution of flow profile at the transition between the microchannel structure and the chamber is studied.

Selection and hydroponic growth of bread wheat cultivars for bioregenerative life support systems

As part of the ESA-funded MELiSSA program, the suitability, the growth and the development of four bread wheat cultivars were investigated in hydroponic culture with the aim to incorporate such a cultivation system in an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). Wheat plants can fulfill three major functions in space: (a) fixation of CO2 and production of O2, (b) production of grains for human nutrition and (c) production of cleaned water after condensation of the water vapor released from the plants by transpiration. Four spring wheat cultivars (Aletsch, Fiorina, Greina and CH Rubli) were grown hydroponically and compared with respect to growth and grain maturation properties. The height of the plants, the culture duration from germination to harvest, the quantity of water used, the number of fertile and non-fertile tillers as well as the quantity and quality of the grains harvested were considered. Mature grains could be harvested after around 160 days depending on the varieties. It became evident that the nutrient supply is crucial in this context and strongly affects leaf senescence and grain maturation. After a first experiment, the culture conditions were improved for the second experiment (stepwise decrease of EC after flowering, pH adjusted twice a week, less plants per m2) leading to a more favorable harvest (higher grain yield and harvest index). Considerably less green tillers without mature grains were present at harvest time in experiment 2 than in experiment 1. The harvest index for dry matter (including roots) ranged from 0.13 to 0.35 in experiment 1 and from 0.23 to 0.41 in experiment 2 with modified culture conditions. The thousand-grain weight for the four varieties ranged from 30.4 to 36.7 g in experiment 1 and from 33.2 to 39.1 g in experiment 2, while market samples were in the range of 39.4–46.9 g. Calcium levels in grains of the hydroponically grown wheat were similar to those from field-grown wheat, while potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, copper, manganese and nickel levels tended to be higher in the grains of experimental plants. It remains a challenge for future experiments to further adapt the nutrient supply in order to improve senescence of vegetative plant parts, harvest index and the composition of bread wheat grains.

Self-disclosure and privacy calculus on social networking sites: the role of culture

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) have become extremely popular around the world. They rely on user-generated content to offer engaging experience to its members. Cultural differences may influence the motivation of users to create and share content on SNS. This study adopts the privacy calculus perspective to examine the role of culture in individual self-disclosure decisions. The authors use structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis to investigate this dynamics. The findings reveal the importance of cultural dimensions of individualism and uncertainty avoidance in the cognitive processes of SNS users.

At the Interface of Culture, Development, and Forests: Insights from Bolivia and Kenya

The first part summarises the origins, definitions and debates around the general notions of development, culture and associated more specific concepts such as identity, tradition, exogenous and endogenous knowledge, institutions, governance or territoriality. A second part highlights how culture and development got related to the debates around sustainable governance of natural resources and forests. The third part illustrates on the basis of a case study from Kenya and Bolivia how culture as a transversal element of forest governance is expressed in empirical terms. Moreover it is shown how the cultural dimension affects positively or negatively the outcomes of culturally shaped forest governance outcomes and the role these effects play in shaping the sustainability of the socio-ecological systems of forests in Africa and South America.

Success in Offshoring of Application Development – Does Culture Matter?

Recently, offshoring of information systems (IS) services to external vendors has seen considerable growth. Outsourcing to vendors in foreign countries brings about unique challenges which need to be understood and managed effectively. This paper explores cultural differences in IS offshoring arrangements involving German client organizations that outsource application development activities to Indian vendors. For this purpose, a research framework is developed based on both theoretical considerations and specific empirical observations from multiple case studies. The goal is to (1) explore the nature of cultural differences in offshoring arrangements in depth and to (2) analyze the relationship between those cultural differences and offshoring success. Based on the case findings, implications and practices for the management of offshore development projects are outlined.

Social networks, mobility, and exchange systems during the Neolithic and Bronze Age of the Swiss Plateau

Excavations of Neolithic (4000 – 3500 BC) and Late Bronze Age (1200 – 800 BC) wetland sites on the northern Alpine periphery have produced astonishing and detailed information about the life and human environment of prehistoric societies. It is even possible to reconstruct settlement histories and settlement dynamics, which suggest a high degree of mobility during the Neolithic. Archaeological finds—such as pottery—show local typological developments in addition to foreign influences. Furthermore, exogenous lithic forms indicate far reaching interaction. Many hundreds of bronze artefacts are recorded from the Late Bronze Age settlements, demonstrating that some wetland sites were centres of bronzework production. Exogenous forms of bronzework are relatively rare in the wetland settlements during the Late Bronze Age. However, the products produced in the lake-settlements can be found widely across central Europe, indicating their continued involvement in interregional exchange partnerships. Potential motivations and dynamics of the relationships between sites and other regions of Europe will be detailed using case studies focussing on the settlements Seedorf Lobsigensee (BE), Concise (VD), and Sutz-Lattrigen Hauptstation innen (BE), and an initial assessment of intra-site connectivity through Network Analysis of sites within the region of Lake Neuchâtel, Lake Biel, and Lake Murten.

Organ Culture Bioreactors - Platforms to Study Human Intervertebral Disc Degeneration and Regenerative Therapy.

In recent decades the application of bioreactors has revolutionized the concept of culturing tissues and organs that require mechanical loading. In intervertebral disc (IVD) research, collaborative efforts of biomedical engineering, biology and mechatronics have led to the innovation of new loading devices that can maintain viable IVD organ explants from large animals and human cadavers in precisely defined nutritional and mechanical environments over extended culture periods. Particularly in spine and IVD research, these organ culture models offer appealing alternatives, as large bipedal animal models with naturally occurring IVD degeneration and a genetic background similar to the human condition do not exist. Latest research has demonstrated important concepts including the potential of homing of mesenchymal stem cells to nutritionally or mechanically stressed IVDs, and the regenerative potential of "smart" biomaterials for nucleus pulposus or annulus fibrosus repair. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about cell therapy, injection of cytokines and short peptides to rescue the degenerating IVD. We further stress that most bioreactor systems simplify the real in vivo conditions providing a useful proof of concept. Limitations are that certain aspects of the immune host response and pain assessments cannot be addressed with ex vivo systems. Coccygeal animal disc models are commonly used because of their availability and similarity to human IVDs. Although in vitro loading environments are not identical to the human in vivo situation, 3D ex vivo organ culture models of large animal coccygeal and human lumbar IVDs should be seen as valid alternatives for screening and feasibility testing to augment existing small animal, large animal, and human clinical trial experiments.

Patenting Systems, Patentable Subject Matter, and Prior Art

The International School of Solid State Physics presented the 56th Course"Materials for Renewable Energy” in Erice (Italy), from July 18th to 28th 2012. This course was sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Scientific Research, the Materials Research Society and the European Materials Research Society. The event was hosted at the "Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture”. The school reviewed critical materials issues for the production and storage of renewable and sustainable energy. The aim of the School was to present the state-of-the-art and future perspectives in this critical area. It was to bring together the international community of students, young scientists, and experts in a unique atmosphere for reciprocal benefits in terms of enthusiasm, knowledge and new ideas.