Analyzing the regulatory framework gaps for gas distribution networks with decreasing natural gas demand in Germany.

German energy system studies, investigating the energy transition pathways to the set climate targets, depict a significant decrease in gas demand. This leads to a discussion about the long-term need of gas distribution networks. The discussion intensified with the war in Ukraine and the subsequent energy price crisis.

Modelling the transformation of energy-intensive industries based on site-specific investment decisions.

The transition towards climate-neutral industry is a challenge, particularly for heavy industries like steel and basic chemicals. Existing models for assessing industrial transformation often lack spatial resolution and fail to capture individual investment decisions. Consequently, the spatial interplay between industry transformation, energy availability, infrastructure availability, and the dynamics of discrete investments is inadequately addressed.

Smart Specialisation Strategies and regional knowledge spaces: how to bridge vision and reality.

Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) are implemented across European regions. However, investigations into whether S3 initiatives adequately match local knowledge capabilities are very scarce. This work analyses to what extent S3 policies are coherent with the local knowledge space of 164 European regions, respectively.

Impacts of Clinical Decision Support Systems on the Relationship, Communication, and Shared Decision-Making Between Health Care Professionals and Patients: Multistakeholder Interview Study.

Background: Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) are increasingly being introduced into various domains of health care. Little is known so far about the impact of such systems on the health care professional-patient relationship, and there is a lack of agreement about whether and how patients should be informed about the use of CDSSs.

Objective: This study aims to explore, in an empirically informed manner, the potential implications for the health care professional-patient relationship and to underline the importance of this relationship when using CDSSs for both patients and future professionals.

Liver stiffness as a prognostic parameter and tool for risk stratification in advanced cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis.

Background: In light of increasing therapeutic options, risk stratification of advanced cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) is gaining clinical importance to avoid ineffective treatments. Liver stiffness as a marker of hypervolemia and hepatic congestion might predict mortality in advanced ATTR-CA and allow to identify patients at highest risk.

Methods: Proven ATTR-CA patients underwent repeated vibration-controlled transient elastography (VTCE) and standardized serial workup within the local amyloidosis cohort study AmyKoS.

Incremental prognostic utility of congestion markers in cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis.

Background/aims: Congestion is prognostically relevant in cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR-CA), but whether congestion has an incremental prognostic value beyond the well-established, congestion-sensitive NT-proBNP is unknown. Therefore, we aimed to comparatively evaluate the prognostic utility of several congestion surrogates over NT-proBNP.

Methods: We estimated hazard ratios by Cox proportional hazards regressions with time-varying covariates from a panel data set of the local amyloidosis cohort study AmyKoS.

Geospatial truck parking locations data for Europe.

This data article introduces a comprehensive dataset of real-world truck parking locations across Europe. The dataset comprises = 19,713 designated parking sites classified according to public accessibility and suitability for heavy-duty trucks (HDTs). More specifically, core information comprises the truck stop category, latitude and longitude information, area size, and country assignment.

Single German centre experience with patient journey and care-relevant needs in amyloidosis: The German AMY-NEEDS research and care program.

Background: Amyloidosis is a rare multi-system disorder associated with frequently delayed diagnosis, enormous disease burden and psychosocial distress.

Methods: Systematic assessment of needs was performed by a subtype-spanning questionnaire-based survey within the AMY-NEEDS research and care program.

Results: 118 patients with proven amyloidosis (62.

Cardio-Hepatic Interaction in Cardiac Amyloidosis.

Congestion is associated with poor prognosis in cardiac amyloidosis (CA). The cardio-hepatic interaction and the prognostic impact of secondary liver affection by cardiac congestion in CA are poorly understood and require further characterisation. Participants of the amyloidosis cohort study AmyKoS at the Interdisciplinary Amyloidosis Centre of Northern Bavaria with proven transthyretin (ATTR-CA) and light chain CA (AL-CA) underwent serial work-up including laboratory tests, echocardiography, and in-depth hepatic assessment by vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) and C-methacetin breath test.

Achieving consensus on assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with cognitive impairments (CI)a Delphi study.

Background: The prevalence of impairments of cognitive functions is expected to increase. Enhancing the QoL of those affected is important. HRQoL in people with CI can be assessed by self-report, proxy-report or observation but there is uncertainty how to best assess HRQoL in people with CI, and which assessment method is most appropriate.

Intensification of moisture separation in the pulp convective drying process with ultrasound-assisted method.

Traditional pulp convective drying (CD) is time-consuming and energy-intensive. This study aimed to assess the drying performance of pulp using ultrasound-assisted drying (UAD) and compared it with CD to intensify moisture separation. UAD was found to be fast and efficient with high effective moisture diffusivity of 2.

Survey of drug use and its association with herd-level and farm-level characteristics on German dairy farms.

The use of veterinary drugs is of similar importance to that of human drugs in addressing health challenges. In this context, pharmaceuticals and their metabolites inevitably enter soil and water in unknown quantities. Therefore, this study collects and analyzes drug data from 2020 for 50 dairy farms located in Germany.

Developing the agroecological niche in Nicaragua: The roles of knowledge flows and intermediaries.

Supporting transitions to sustainable, resilient agri-food systems is important to ensure stable food supply in the face of growing climate extremes. Agroecology, or diversified farming systems based on ecological principles, can contribute to such systems. Based on a qualitative case study of Nicaragua, a forerunner in agroecology, this paper unpacks an ongoing transition to agroecology, focusing on how the transition has been shaped by knowledge flows and intermediary actors.

Expectation of clinical decision support systems: a survey study among nephrologist end-users.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD), a major public health problem with differing disease etiologies, leads to complications, comorbidities, polypharmacy, and mortality. Monitoring disease progression and personalized treatment efforts are crucial for long-term patient outcomes. Physicians need to integrate different data levels, e.

Scoping review of climate change and mental health in Germany - Direct and indirect impacts, vulnerable groups, resilience factors.

Background: Climate change is a major threat to human health and has direct and indirect impacts on the human psyche.

Methods: To assess the state of knowledge on the impact of climate change on mental health in Germany, a scoping review was conducted for the focus topics extreme weather events, temperature increase, intra-psychological processing, sociological aspects, and resilience factors. Ten studies met the inclusion criteria of the searches in the databases Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, PubPsych, PubMed, and PsychInfo.

Discharge of iodine-containing contrast media into the environment - problem analysis and implementation of measures to reduce discharge by means of separation toilets - experience from a pilot project.

Purpose: Environmental aspects and sustainability are becoming increasingly important. In addition to energy consumption, the consumption and environmental discharge of contrast agents pose a particular challenge. Because of their desired stability, X-ray contrast agents (XCAs) are deposited in surface water at a rate of up to 400 tons per year.

Prospects of recycling from end-of-life of Li-ion batteries on alleviating materials demand-supply gap in new electric vehicles in Asia.

The acceptance of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is continuously increasing to mitigate CO emissions, resulting in an increase in the future material demand for LIBs. Therefore, the proper handling of End-of-life (EOL) BEV batteries requires careful attention to mitigate the supply chain issues for future LIBs materials, especially in Asia. A system dynamics model assessment was performed to evaluate the EOL of LIBs by considering the dynamic lifespan, recovery rate, and economic value under three growth rate scenarios in Asia from 2022 to 2030, depending on the battery chemistry over time.

Impact of variable electricity price on heat pump operated buildings.

Residential buildings with heat pumps show promising possibilities for demand-side management. The operation optimization of such heating systems can lead to cost reduction and, at the same time, change electricity consumption patterns, which is especially prevalent in the case of a variable price signal. In this work, we deal with the following question: How does the volatility of a variable retail electricity price change the energy consumption of buildings with a smart energy management system?  In this context, we take Austria as an example and aggregate the findings of individual households to the national stock of single-family houses.

Valorization for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in the Agri-Food Value Chain.

This article defines the term valorization of biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) measures, as distinguished from their valuation, and underpins it with an assessment of private valorization examples along the agri-food value chain. Valorization incentivizes measures for promoting BES, while valuation refers to its quantification. Valuation can be a step of valorization but is not indispensable.

Responsibility and decision-making authority in using clinical decision support systems: an empirical-ethical exploration of German prospective professionals' preferences and concerns.

Machine learning-driven clinical decision support systems (ML-CDSSs) seem impressively promising for future routine and emergency care. However, reflection on their clinical implementation reveals a wide array of ethical challenges. The preferences, concerns and expectations of professional stakeholders remain largely unexplored.

Mind the goal: Trade-offs between flexibility goals for controlled electric vehicle charging strategies.

Electrification is one of the main decarbonization strategies for transportation. While uncontrolled electric vehicle (EV) charging can challenge the electricity system, controlled EV charging can offer flexibility. Using an agent-based model, we simulate combinations of two elements of EV charging, plug-in behaviors and controlled-charging processes, and measure flexibility goals with four metrics: total load shift, increase in midday load, peak reduction, and flatness of the load curve.

Reimagining health services provision for neglected groups: The "personalization from below" phenomenon.

How can data-driven citizen science activities supporting health research and services provision meet the needs of unrepresented and neglected groups through increased personalization? In this short Perspective, we explore "personalization from below" as a concept designating forms of citizen science-based data altruism that specifically push for and enact a different understanding of both health services and personalization. We develop the argument that such phenomenon taking place outside "institutionalized" health-related practices could make health services provision more inclusive of values that matter to people. We contextualize instances of "personalization from below," discuss related data governance models and alternative public health interventions, and conclude by outlining three key arguments in favor of "personalization from below" and future research avenues.

Ensuring Privacy and Confidentiality in Social Work Through Intentional Omissions of Information in Client Information Systems: a Qualitative Study of Available and Non-available Data.

There is intensive debate about the use of AI-based systems in social work, although the degree of digitalization is low in many jurisdictions. In this article, the findings of research about the process of case recording in client information systems for social work are presented. Between January and June 2020, 20 guideline-based interviews were conducted with experts working for funding agencies or service providers.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on accredited conformity assessment bodies: insights from a multinational study.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed new and manifold challenges to organizations and their operations worldwide. Conformity assessment bodies (CABs), such as testing or medical laboratories, certification, and inspection bodies, were also affected by the associated disruptions. Their role in this crisis is highly relevant, as CABs are essential pillars of the quality infrastructure: their activities ensure that products and services meet requirements as defined in standards and regulations, thereby contributing to their safety and reliability.