Vom Umgang mit der Not

Die historische Aufarbeitung zeigt, dass Menschen im Kontext der Armutsbekämpfung bis weit ins 20. Jahrhundert Verletzungen ihrer Grundrechte erlitten.

Internetbasierte Therapien

Internetbasierte Therapien können das psychosoziale Angebot in vielfältiger Weise ergänzen. Trotz auch häufig geäusserten Vorbehalten hat sich das neue Therapieformat bereits in vielen Studien als wirksam erwiesen. Verantwortungsvoll eingesetzt können internetbasierte Behandlungsansätze mithelfen, die hohen Prävalenzraten psychischer Störungen zu reduzieren.

Systematic analysis of the intravoxel incoherent motion threshold separating perfusion and diffusion effects: Proposal of a standardized algorithm

PURPOSE To systematically evaluate the dependence of intravoxel-incoherent-motion (IVIM) parameters on the b-value threshold separating the perfusion and diffusion compartment, and to implement and test an algorithm for the standardized computation of this threshold. METHODS Diffusion weighted images of the upper abdomen were acquired at 3 Tesla in eleven healthy male volunteers with 10 different b-values and in two healthy male volunteers with 16 different b-values. Region-of-interest IVIM analysis was applied to the abdominal organs and skeletal muscle with a systematic increase of the b-value threshold for computing pseudodiffusion D*, perfusion fraction Fp , diffusion coefficient D, and the sum of squared residuals to the bi-exponential IVIM-fit. RESULTS IVIM parameters strongly depended on the choice of the b-value threshold. The proposed algorithm successfully provided optimal b-value thresholds with the smallest residuals for all evaluated organs [s/mm2]: e.g., right liver lobe 20, spleen 20, right renal cortex 150, skeletal muscle 150. Mean D* [10(-3) mm(2) /s], Fp [%], and D [10(-3) mm(2) /s] values (±standard deviation) were: right liver lobe, 88.7 ± 42.5, 22.6 ± 7.4, 0.73 ± 0.12; right renal cortex: 11.5 ± 1.8, 18.3 ± 2.9, 1.68 ± 0.05; spleen: 41.9 ± 57.9, 8.2 ± 3.4, 0.69 ± 0.07; skeletal muscle: 21.7 ± 19.0; 7.4 ± 3.0; 1.36 ± 0.04. CONCLUSION IVIM parameters strongly depend upon the choice of the b-value threshold used for computation. The proposed algorithm may be used as a robust approach for IVIM analysis without organ-specific adaptation. Magn Reson Med, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Segmented filamentous bacterium uses secondary and tertiary lymphoid tissues to induce gut IgA and specific T helper 17 cell responses.

Segmented filamentous bacterium (SFB) is a symbiont that drives postnatal maturation of gut adaptive immune responses. In contrast to nonpathogenic E. coli, SFB stimulated vigorous development of Peyer's patches germinal centers but paradoxically induced only a low frequency of specific immunoglobulin A (IgA)-secreting cells with delayed accumulation of somatic mutations. Moreover, blocking Peyer's patch development abolished IgA responses to E. coli, but not to SFB. Indeed, SFB stimulated the postnatal development of isolated lymphoid follicles and tertiary lymphoid tissue, which substituted for Peyer's patches as inductive sites for intestinal IgA and SFB-specific T helper 17 (Th17) cell responses. Strikingly, in mice depleted of gut organized lymphoid tissue, SFB still induced a substantial but nonspecific intestinal Th17 cell response. These results demonstrate that SFB has the remarkable capacity to induce and stimulate multiple types of intestinal lymphoid tissues that cooperate to generate potent IgA and Th17 cell responses displaying only limited target specificity.

Variation in life-history traits and their plasticities to elevational transplantation among seed families suggests potential for adaptative evolution of 15 tropical plant species to climate change

• Premise of the study: Because not all plant species will be able to move in response to global warming, adaptive evolution matters largely for plant persistence. As prerequisites for adaptive evolution, genetic variation in and selection on phenotypic traits are needed, but these aspects have not been studied in tropical species. We studied how plants respond to transplantation to different elevations on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, and whether there is quantitative genetic (among-seed family) variation in and selection on life-history traits and their phenotypic plasticity to the different environments. • Methods: We reciprocally transplanted seed families of 15 common tropical, herbaceous species of the montane and savanna vegetation zone at Mt. Kilimanjaro to a watered experimental garden in the montane (1450 m) and in the savanna (880 m) zone at the mountain’s slope and measured performance, reproductive, and phenological traits. • Results: Plants generally performed worse in the savanna garden, indicating that the savanna climate was more stressful and thus that plants may suffer from future climate warming. We found significant quantitative genetic variation in all measured performance and reproductive traits in both gardens and for several measures of phenotypic plasticity in response to elevational transplantation. Moreover, we found positive selection on traits at low and intermediate trait values levelling to neutral or negative selection at high values. • Conclusions: We conclude that common plants at Mt. Kilimanjaro express quantitative genetic variation in fitness-relevant traits and in their plasticities, suggesting potential to adapt evolutionarily to future climate warming and increased temperature variability.

Schnell, aber fair? - Kritische Analyse des Entwurfs der „Testphasenverordnung“

Die Testphasenverordnung bildet die rechtliche Grundlage des Versuchs der Neustrukturierung des Asylverfahrens in der Schweiz und hat sich somit an deren Zielvorgaben zu messen. Aus diesem Grund wird in diesem Artikel die Frage untersucht, ob das Ziel der Effizienz unter gleichzeitiger Wahrung der Fairness im Asylverfahren durch das aktuelle Umsetzungsvorhaben erreicht wird. Nach einer Darstellung der geplanten Verfahrensabläufe werden zuerst die der Beschleunigung dienenden Bestimmungen der Testphasenverordnung dargestellt und kommentiert, danach diejenigen welche der Fairness und Rechtsstaatlichkeit dienen sollen. Im Ausblick werden weitere Fragen aufgeworfen und es wird versucht eine Einschätzung zu geben, ob das für die Testphase vorgesehene Verfahren geeignet ist, die Glaubwürdigkeit des Asylsystems zu fördern.

Wie findet man eine praktikable und zufriedenstellende Lösung für die komplexen Anforderungen?

Unter der Leitung von Prof. Dr. Alberto Achermann vom Zentrum für Migrationsrecht der Universität Bern, der gleichzeitig Vizepräsident der nationalen Kommission zur Verhütung der Folter ist, diskutierten Fachleute aus Forschung, Verwaltung, Justiz und Anwaltschaft die Frage, wie praktikable und zufriedenstellende Lösungen für die komplexen Anforderungen des Asylverfahrens gefunden werden könnten.