University of Münster

About: University of Münster is a education organization based out in Münster, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Transplantation. The organization has 35609 authors who have published 69059 publications receiving 2278534 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Munster & University of Muenster.

Customer Engagement as a New Perspective in Customer Management

Abstract: Since 2000, customer management (CM) research has evolved and has had a significant impact on the marketing discipline. In an increasingly networked society where customers can interact easily with other customers and firms through social networks and other new media, the authors propose that customer engagement is an important new development in CM. Customer engagement is considered as a behavioral manifestation toward the brand or firm that goes beyond transactions. The authors propose a conceptual model of the antecedents, impediments, and firm consequences of customer engagement and relate this model to seven articles appearing in the special issue on customer engagement.

Inotersen Treatment for Patients with Hereditary Transthyretin Amyloidosis

Abstract: Background Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis is caused by pathogenic single-nucleotide variants in the gene encoding transthyretin (TTR) that induce transthyretin misfolding and systemi...

Proinflammatory Cytokines Disrupt Epithelial Barrier Function by Apoptosis-Independent Mechanisms

Abstract: It is well known that inflammatory conditions of the intestinal mucosa result in compromised barrier function. Inflammation is characterized by an influx into the mucosa of immune cells that influence epithelial function by releasing proinflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF-α. Mucosal barrier function is regulated by the epithelial apical junctional complex (AJC) consisting of the tight junction and the adherens junction. Since the AJC regulates barrier function, we analyzed the influence of IFN-γ and TNF-α on its structure/function and determined the contribution of apoptosis to this process using a model intestinal epithelial cell line, T84, and IFN-γ and TNF-α. AJC structure/function was analyzed by confocal microscopy, biochemical analysis, and physiologic measurement of epithelial gate/fence function. Apoptosis was monitored by determining cytokeratin 18 cleavage and caspase-3 activation. IFN-γ induced time-dependent disruptions in epithelial gate function that were potentiated by coincubation with TNF-α. Tight junction fence function was somewhat disrupted. Cytokine treatment was associated with internalization of AJC transmembrane proteins, junction adhesion molecule 1, occludin, and claudin-1/4 with minimal effects on the cytoplasmic plaque protein zonula occludens 1. Detergent solubility profiles of junction adhesion molecule 1 and E-cadherin and their affiliation with “raft-like” membrane microdomains were modified by these cytokines. Inhibition of cytokine-induced apoptosis did not block induced permeability defects; further emphasizing their primary influence on the epithelial AJC structure and barrier function. Our findings for the first time clearly separate the proapoptotic effects of IFN-γ and TNF-α from their abilities to disrupt barrier function.

Echocardiographic assessment of valve stenosis: EAE/ASE recommendations for clinical practice

Abstract: AR = aortic regurgitation AS = aortic stenosis AVA = aortic valve area CSA = cross sectional area CWD = continuous wave Doppler D = diameter HOCM = hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy LV = left ventricle LVOT = left ventricular outflow tract MR = mitral regurgitation MS = mitral stenosis MVA = mitral valve area ΔP = pressure gradient RV = right ventricle RVOT = right ventricular outflow tract SV = stroke volume TEE = transesophageal echocardiography T 1/2 = pressure half-time TR = tricuspid regurgitation TS = tricuspid stenosis V = velocity VSD = ventricular septal defect VTI =velocity time integral Valve stenosis is a common heart disorder and an important cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Echocardiography has become the key tool for the diagnosis and evaluation of valve disease, and is the primary non-invasive imaging method for valve stenosis assessment. Clinical decision-making is based on echocardiographic assessment of the severity of valve stenosis, so it is essential that standards be adopted to maintain accuracy and consistency across echocardiographic laboratories when assessing and reporting valve stenosis. The aim of this paper was to detail the recommended approach to the echocardiographic evaluation of valve stenosis, including recommendations for specific measures of stenosis severity, details of data acquisition and measurement, and grading of severity. These recommendations are based on the scientific literature and on the consensus of a panel of experts. This document discusses a number of proposed methods for evaluation of stenosis severity. On the basis of a comprehensive literature review and expert consensus, these methods were categorized for clinical practice as:

Mineral Replacement Reactions

Abstract: Whenever a mineral or mineral assemblage comes into contact with a fluid with which it is out of equilibrium, reequilibration will tend to take place to reduce the free energy of the whole system (i.e., of the solid + fluid). Such fluid-solid interactions span a very wide range of possible reactions, and are responsible for most of the mineral assemblages we see in the Earth’s crust. However, before discussing mineral replacement reactions, we will put them into the broader context of fluid-solid interactions by considering some examples of such reequilibration. In the simplest case, we could consider the situation where a mineral, thermodynamically stable under some speciflc temperature and pressure conditions, comes into contact with pure water, such as quartz within its stability field (e.g., at T = 100 °C and 1 atmosphere pressure). Clearly, quartz will tend to dissolve until, at equilibrium, the aqueous silica solution, which at neutral pH is H4SiO4(aq), becomes saturated with respect to quartz. The reaction for this equilibration can be written: \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \[SiO\_{2\ (qtz)}\ +\ H\_{2}O\ {\leftrightarrow}\ H\_{4}SiO\_{4(aq)}\] \end{document}(1) The equilibrium solubility constant for reaction (1) is given by \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \[\mathit{K}\_{\mathit{sp}}\ (\mathit{qtz})\ =\ \frac{\mathit{a}(H\_{4}SiO\_{4})\_{\mathit{aq}}}{\mathit{a}(SiO\_{2})\_{\mathit{qtz}}\ {\cdot}\ \mathit{a}(H\_{2}O)}\ =\ \mathit{a}(H\_{4}SiO\_{4})\_{\mathit{aq}}\] \end{document} where a ( i ) aq stands for the activity of the parenthetical aqueous species. For the case of pure quartz and pure water where the activity is 1, K sp ( qtz ) ~1.2 × 10−3 at 100 °C and 1 atmosphere pressure. However, if under these conditions the solid silica phase in contact with pure water was cristobalite (the high temperature polymorph of SiO2), the resulting aqueous solution, saturated with respect to cristobalite, would be supersaturated with respect to quartz, since the less stable phase is more soluble. The value of K sp for cristobalite at 100 °C and 1 atmosphere pressure is ~5.1 × 10−3. Thus the thermodynamics would indicate that quartz …