BackgroundThe Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is increasingly used for clinical decision making in acute care but little is known about frailty after COVID-19.ObjectivesTo investigate frailty and the CFS for post-COVID-19 follow-up.MethodsThis prospective multicentre cohort study included COVID-19 survivors aged ≥50 years presenting for a follow-up visit ≥3 months after the acute illness. Nine centres retrospectively collected pre-COVID-19 CFS and prospectively CFS at follow-up. Three centres completed the Frailty Index (FI), the short physical performance battery (SPPB), 30 s sit-to-stand test and handgrip strength measurements. Mixed effect logistic regression models accounting for repeated measurements and potential confounders were used to investigate factors associated with post-COVID-19 CFS. Criterion and construct validity were determined by correlating the CFS to other concurrently assessed frailty measurements and measures of respiratory impairment, respectively.ResultsOf the 288 participants 65% were men, mean (SD) age was 65.1 (9) years. Median (IQR) CFS at follow-up was 3 (2–3), 21% were vulnerable or frail (CFS ≥4). The CFS was responsive to change, correlated with the FI (r=0.69, p<0.001), the SPPB score (r=−0.48, p<0.001) (criterion validity) and with the St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire score (r=0.59, p<0.001), forced vital capacity %-predicted (r=−0.25, p<0.001), 6 min walk distance (r=−0.39, p<0.001) and modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) (r=0.59, p<0.001). Dyspnoea was significantly associated with a higher odds for vulnerability/frailty (per one mMRC adjusted OR 2.01 (95% CI 1.13 to 3.58), p=0.02).ConclusionsThe CFS significantly increases with COVID-19, and dyspnoea is an important risk factor for post-COVID-19 frailty and should be addressed thoroughly.

Fig. 4. Overview of the tests evaluated for Eurocode 3 [9] related to the basic material strength; thread in shear plane (left) and shank in shear plane (right), with schematic quadratic curve overlaid

Bolts were tested under different combinations of tension and shear in order to estimate how bolts generally behave in combined tension and shear, what influence the strength grade has and to be able to assess the validity of the old and new standard rules. To assure results that not only represent the behaviour of round steel, but of a bolt as such, a test setup was developed that ensured a construction situation as realistic as possible. The results of these tests are summarized in this paper.

The relationship between impregnation process and winding temperature has not been analyzed in detail yet. Therefore, one purpose of this paper is to investigate the correlation between impregnation process, resin absorption, applied resin, and thermal behavior. Apart from thermal behavior, it has to be ensured that the lifetime of the manufactured electrical machines still meets industrial specifications. The lifetime is primarily affected by the quality of the insulation system. So the second purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of the named aspects on the lifetime of an electrical machine.

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Herrn Univ.‐Prof. Dr.‐Ing. habil. Frank Werner zur Vollendung seines 70. Lebensjahres gewidmet Das Tragverhalten von stahlbautypischen Schrauben, die einer Interaktionsbelastung, also einer kombinierten Belastung aus Zug‐ und Abscherkraft, ausgesetzt sind, wurde am Institut für Stahlbau und Werkstoffmechanik der TU Darmstadt grundlegend untersucht. Auslöser war, dass die Neuauswertung der bestehenden Versuchsreihen zu diesem Thema für die Erstellung des Eurocodes 3 gezeigt hatte, dass die bis zu diesem Datum als valid angesehene quadratische Interaktionsbedingung zum Nachweis kombiniert belasteter Schrauben nicht auf der sicheren Seite liegt. Dies führte zur Änderung der Nachweisformel im Eurocode 3. Eine genauere Betrachtung der Datenlage zeigt, dass die Anzahl der bisher durchgeführten Versuche überraschend gering ist. Durch das Fehlen wichtiger Bezugswerte wie der Festigkeiten der getesteten Schrauben sind die Daten auch nur bedingt auswertbar. Eine grundlegende Betrachtung, wie sich kombiniert belastete Schrauben verhalten, fehlte gänzlich. Aus diesem Grund wurden im Rahmen eines Forschungsvorhabens die bestehenden Studien neu und zusammenfassend ausgewertet, neue Versuche durchgeführt, diese mithilfe der Methode der finiten Elemente nachgebildet und das Tragverhalten so erstmals grundlegend analysiert. Anhand von Parameterstudien konnte die Übertragbarkeit der Ergebnisse überprüft werden. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden die Erkenntnisse zusammengefasst und die Möglichkeiten für eine zukünftige Handhabung des Interaktionsnachweises für Schrauben diskutiert.

<p>PDF file - 63KB, Fluorescence imaging - Fluorescence imaging was used for monitoring anti-DR5-Cy5 distribution in the mouse. Cell culture and cell inoculation of U87-Luc and U251 cell lines - U87-Luc and U251 were used for additional BBB penetration studies and were inoculated as described for D54-Caspase-3/7 GloSensor cell line.</p>

<p>PDF file - 75KB, Supplementary Figure 1 - Highly sensitive apoptosis imaging allows tumor detection and randomization at early time points.</p>