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HNO : Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Halschirurgie (2021). doi:10.1007/s00106-021-01070-9, Published by Springer, New York

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The FEniCS Project was founded in 2003, and is open source software for the automatic solution of partial differential equations using the finite element method. Only a few individuals involved in the early days are still active in 2019, and the scientific software landscape has changed immeasurably in that time. Nonetheless, the FEniCS Project is still actively maintained, widely used, and is currently undergoing a complete overhaul in a project we call FEniCSX. In this talk I will highlight four of the most impactful changes with respect to the sustainability of the FEniCS Project:Formalisation of a governance structure within NumFOCUS. By joining NumFOCUS, the FEniCS Project has gained access to a huge variety of legal, administrative and fundraising opportunities.Sustainable pathways for bringing in new contributors. Examples include access to the Google Summer of Code programme, which has lead to some of the most significant new features (e.g. complex number support).The FEniCSX technical redevelopment. FEniCSX is a complete redevelopment of the FEniCS Project's software components, with a strong focus on simplicity, extensibility and standards compliance.Reducing time burden on core developers with software as a service. We used to administer many services e.g. continuous integration, ourselves. Wherever possible, we are now using external third party services.Presented at SIAM PP20 Minisymposium: Improving Productivity and Sustainability for Parallel Computing Software.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Systematic search strategy. Table S2. Systematic search on IgE autoantibodies in patients with atopic dermatitis. AD: atopic dermatitis, RC: rhino conjunctivitis, NA: nonatopic, HC: healthy controls without allergic symptoms, PS: psoriasis, CA: contact allergy, UA: urticaria. Table S3. Autoreactive T cells in patients with atopic dermatitis. AD: atopic dermatitis, RC: rhinoconjunctivitis, HC: healthy controls, NA: non-atopic, CD: chronic dermatoses, PS: psoriasis, ns: non-sensitized, ABPA: allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. * median.

© 2018 Dustri-Verlag Dr. Karl Feistle. Backround: Visual analogue scales (VAS) are psychometric measuring instruments designed to document the characteristics of disease-related symptom severity in individual patients and use this to achieve a rapid (statistically measurable and reproducible) classification of symptom severity and disease control. VAS can also be used in routine patient history taking and to monitor the course of a chronic disease such as allergic rhinitis (AR). More specifically, the VAS has been used to assess effectiveness of AR therapy in real life, both in intermittent and persistent disease. Methods: This position paper takes a detailed look at the historical development of VAS and its methodspecific principles. Particular focus is put on aspects of practical application in daily routine and on a critical discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the individual methods. Results: VAS are well validated for the measurement of AR symptoms and correlate well with the ARIA (allergic rhinitis and its impact on asthma) severity classification and also correlated wellwith rTNSS and RQLQ. Moreover, several treatment studies on AR have used VAS as an evaluation parameter. Thanks to the use of new (real-life and real-time) communication technologies, such as smartphone apps, VAS can be used relatively simply and highly effectively to assess disease control. Discussion: The VAS lends itself very well to digitization and has now been incorporated into a smartphone app (called Allergy Diary) to assess AR control and direct treatment decisions as part of an AR clinical decision support system (CDSS). MASK Rhinitis has developed this app, which is currently available in 15 different languages. ispartof: Allergologie vol:41 issue:8 pages:364-374 status: published

Background: BM32 is a grass pollen allergy vaccine based on recombinant fusion proteins consisting of nonallergenic peptides from the IgE-binding sites of the 4 major grass pollen allergens and the hepatitis B preS protein. Objective: We sought to study the safety and clinical efficacy of immunotherapy (allergen immunotherapy) with BM32 in patients with grass pollen-induced rhinitis and controlled asthma. Methods: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter allergen immunotherapy field study was conducted for 2 grass pollen seasons. After a baseline season, subjects (n = 181) were randomized and received 3 preseasonal injections of either placebo (n = 58) or a low dose (80 mu g, n = 60) or high dose (160 mu g, n = 63) of BM32 in year 1, respectively, followed by a booster injection in autumn. In the second year, all actively treated subjects received 3 preseasonal injections of the BM32 low dose, and placebo-treated subjects continued with placebo. Clinical efficacy was assessed by using combined symptom medication scores, visual analog scales, Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaires, and asthma symptom scores. Adverse events were graded according to the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Allergen-specific antibodies were determined by using ELISA, ImmunoCAP, and ImmunoCAP ISAC. Results: Although statistical significance regarding the primary end point was not reached, BM32-treated subjects, when compared with placebo-treated subjects, showed an improvement regarding symptom medication, visual analog scale, Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire, and asthma symptom scores in both treatment years. This was accompanied by an induction of allergen-specific IgG without induction of allergen-specific IgE and a reduction in the seasonally induced increase in allergen-specific IgE levels in year 2. In the first year, more grade 2 reactions were observed in the active (n = 6) versus placebo (n = 1) groups, whereas there was almost no difference in the second year. Conclusions: Injections of BM32 induced allergen-specific IgG, improved clinical symptoms of seasonal grass pollen allergy, and were well tolerated.

Poster presented at 2015 SIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering, Salt Lake City.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a distressing dermatological disease which is highly prevalent during infancy, can persist into later life and requires long-term management with anti-inflammatory compounds. The introduction of the topical calcineurin inhibitors (TCIs), tacrolimus and pimecrolimus, more than 10 years ago was a major breakthrough for the topical anti-inflammatory treatment of AD. Pimecrolimus 1% is approved for second-line use in children (≥2 years old) and adults with mild-to-moderate AD. The age restriction was emphasised in a boxed warning added by the FDA in January 2006, which also highlights the lack of long-term safety data and the theoretical risk of skin malignancy and lymphoma. Since then, pimecrolimus has been extensively investigated in short- and long-term studies including over 4000 infants (

Developing scientific software is a continuous balance between not reinventing the wheel and getting fragile codes to interoperate with one another. Binary software distributions such as Anaconda provide a robust starting point for many scientific software packages, but this solution alone is insufficient for many scientific software developers. HashDist provides a critical component of the development workflow, enabling highly customizable, source-driven, and reproducible builds for scientific software stacks, available from both the IPython Notebook and the command line. To address these issues, the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center has funded the development of HashDist in collaboration with Simula Research Laboratories and the University of Texas at Austin. HashDist is motivated by a functional approach to package build management, and features intelligent caching of sources and builds, parametrized build specifications, and the ability to interoperate with system compilers and packages. HashDist enables the easy specification of "software stacks", which allow both the novice user to install a default environment and the advanced user to configure every aspect of their build in a modular fashion. As an advanced feature, HashDist builds can be made relocatable, allowing the easy redistribution of binaries on all three major operating systems as well as cloud, and supercomputing platforms. As a final benefit, all HashDist builds are reproducible, with a build hash specifying exactly how each component of the software stack was installed. This talk discusses the role of HashDist in the hydrological sciences, including its use by the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory in the development and deployment of the Proteus Toolkit as well as the Rapid Operational Access and Maneuver Support project. We demonstrate HashDist in action, and show how it can effectively support development, deployment, teaching, and reproducibility for scientists working in the hydrological sciences.

The illustrated World Allergy Organization (WAO) Anaphylaxis Guidelines were created in response to absence of global guidelines for anaphylaxis. Uniquely, before they were developed, lack of worldwide availability of essentials for the diagnosis and treatment of anaphylaxis was documented. They incorporate contributions from more than 100 allergy/immunology specialists on 6 continents. Recommendations are based on the best evidence available, supported by references published to the end of December 2010. The Guidelines review patient risk factors for severe or fatal anaphylaxis, co-factors that amplify anaphylaxis, and anaphylaxis in vulnerable patients, including pregnant women, infants, the elderly, and those with cardiovascular disease. They focus on the supreme importance of making a prompt clinical diagnosis and on the basic initial treatment that is urgently needed and should be possible even in a low resource environment. This involves having a written emergency protocol and rehearsing it regularly; then, as soon as anaphylaxis is diagnosed, promptly and simultaneously calling for help, injecting epinephrine (adrenaline) intramuscularly, and placing the patient on the back or in a position of comfort with the lower extremities elevated. When indicated, additional critically important steps include administering supplemental oxygen and maintaining the airway, establishing intravenous access and giving fluid resuscitation, and initiating cardiopulmonary resuscitation with continuous chest compressions. Vital signs and cardiorespiratory status should be monitored frequently and regularly (preferably, continuously). The Guidelines briefly review management of anaphylaxis refractory to basic initial treatment. They also emphasize preparation of the patient for self-treatment of anaphylaxis recurrences in the community, confirmation of anaphylaxis triggers, and prevention of recurrences through trigger avoidance and immunomodulation. Novel strategies for dissemination and implementation are summarized. A global agenda for anaphylaxis research is proposed.

Background: The ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma) guidelines proposed a classification for allergic rhinitis based on the duration of symptoms (intermittent or persistent) rather than on the time of allergen exposure (seasonal or perennial). There had been no placebo-controlled, randomized, clinical trial of desloratadine (DL) in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis to date. Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of DL in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis based on the ARIA classification. Methods: Patients 12 years of age and older with persistent allergic rhinitis were assessed over 85 days of treatment with DL 5 mg once daily (n = 360) or placebo (n = 356). The primary endpoint was the AM/PM reflective total 5-symptom score (T5SS) averaged over days 1–29. Secondary endpoints included AM/PM instantaneous T5SS and individual symptoms, therapeutic response, symptom severity assessed by a visual analogue scale and quality of life. Results: The mean reduction in AM/PM reflective T5SS was significantly greater with DL than placebo over days 1–29 (–3.76 vs. –2.87, p < 0.001) and on each individual day (p < 0.05). The mean AM instantaneous T5SS was significantly reduced with DL compared with placebo as early as day 2 (–1.90 vs. –1.46; p < 0.001). The therapeutic response and improvement in quality of life were significantly greater with DL than placebo (p < 0.001 for each). The frequency of treatment-related adverse events was low and similar between DL (10.0%) and placebo (8.4%). Conclusions: This study showed DL to be effective and safe in the treatment of persistent allergic rhinitis.

In order to translate scientific results from bench to bedside and further into an evidence-based and efficient health system, intensive collaboration is needed between experts from medicine, biology, informatics, engineering, public health, as well as social and economic sciences. Research challenges can be attributed to four areas: bioinformatics and systems biology, biomedical engineering and informatics, health informatics and individual healthcare, and public health informatics. In order to bridge existing gaps between different disciplines and cultures, we suggest focusing on interdisciplinary education, taking an integrative approach and starting interdisciplinary practice at early stages of education.

Zusammenfassung Weltweit ist in den letzten 30 Jahren in der hellhäutigen Bevölkerung eine Zunahme des malignen Melanoms der Haut zu beobachten. So beträgt beispielsweise die geschätzte Inzidenz im Großraum München derzeit 14 bis 16 pro 100 000 Einwohner. Während die frühzeitig diagnostizierten Melanome meist durch chirurgische Exzision geheilt werden können, ist die Prognose des metastasierenden malignen Melanoms bis heute in der Regel infaust. Da immer noch etwa 20 Prozent der Melanompatienten trotz aller Früherkennungsprogramme an der Progression ihrer Erkrankung sterben, ist das Interesse an Laboruntersuchungen und bildgebenden Verfahren zur Untersuchung asymptomatischer Patienten mit Metastasen sehr groß. Für das maligne Melanom gab es bisher keinen, außerhalb von experimentellen und klinischen Studien stehenden Tumormarker. Dies hat sich seit einiger Zeit geändert. Es stehen nun kommerziell erhältliche Tumormarker wie S100β und das Protein „melanoma inhibitory activity“ (MIA) zur Verfügung. Auf diese sowie auf die Wertigkeit experimenteller Prognosefaktoren wird im Folgenden eingegangen. Summary Tumour markers in malignant melanoma The incidence of malignant melanoma of the skin has increased in Caucasian populations over the last 30 years. The estimated incidence in the Munich area is currently 14 to 16 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. While early treatment by surgical excision is usually curative, the prognosis of the metastatic malignant melanoma remains poor. As around 20 per cent of melanoma patients die of advanced disease despite early detection programs, laboratory investigations and imaging procedures have an important role to play in asymptomatic patients with metastases. Until recently, tumor markers for malignant melanoma have been purely experimental. This has recently changed, with the advent of some commercially available tumor markers such as S100β and MIA („melanoma inhibitory activity“). This review discusses these tumor markers along with experimental prognostic markers.

Background: In atopic eczema (AE), skin colonization with Staphylococcus aureus is known to play a major triggering and possibly pathophysiological role. Methods: In this open-labeled controlled side-to-side comparative trial, affected sites (flexures of both elbows) in 15 patients diagnosed as having generalized or localized AE were evaluated regarding S. aureus colonization and clinical severity of AE over a 2-week period. Flexures of the elbows were covered with silver-coated textiles on one arm and cotton on the other for 7 days followed by a 7-day control period. Results: A highly significant decrease in S. aureus colonization could be seen on the site covered by the silver-coated textile already 2 days after initiation lasting until the end of the treatment. Seven days after cessation, S. aureus density remained significantly lower compared to baseline. In addition, significantly lower numbers of S. aureus were observed on the silver-coated textile site in comparison to cotton at the end of treatment as well as at the time point of control. Clinical improvement correlated with the reduction of S. aureus colonization. Conclusion: A superior improvement achieved by silver-coated compared to cotton textiles paralleled a potent anti-S.-aureus effect.

The hypereosinophilic syndromes (HES) are a heterogeneous group of disorders defined as persistent and marked blood eosinophilia of unknown origin with systemic organ involvement. HES is a potentially severe multisystem disease associated with considerable morbidity. Skin involvement and cutaneous findings frequently can be seen in those patients. Skin symptoms consist of angioedema; unusual urticarial lesions; and eczematous, therapy-resistant, pruriginous papules and nodules. They may be the only obvious clinical symptoms. Cutaneous features can give an important hint to the diagnosis of this rare and often severe illness. Based on advances in molecular and genetic diagnostic techniques and on increasing experience with characteristic clinical features and prognostic markers, therapy has changed radically. Current therapies include corticosteroids, hydroxyurea, interferon-α, the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate, and (in progress) the monoclonal anti-interleukin-5 antibodies. This article provides an overview of current concepts of disease classification, different skin findings, and therapy for HES.