Dark tourism: An assessment of the motivations of visitors to Auschwitz – Birkenau, Poland

Travel to sites of death and destruction is not a new concept. It is however, a phenomenon that has in recent years emerged as a clearly identifiable tourism product from a supply perspective and a growing tourism trend throughout the world. An element of human nature is this fascination with death and disaster, which has been catered for through the emergence of tourism sites associated with death, disaster and destruction. Today, many places of death and disaster attract millions of tourists from around the world such as Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, Anne Frank’s House in Amsterdam, Ground Zero in New York, Arlington National Cemetery and the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa to name but a few. This paper seeks to establish an understanding of the concept of dark tourism and its growth throughout the world. It will then assess the role of dark tourism in a Polish context with a particular emphasis on Auschwitz – Birkenau (a German World War 2 concentration camp). The empirical research for this paper seeks to develop a profile of visitors to Auschwitz and examine the key motivations of visitors. A triangulation approach was adopted incorporating qualitative focus groups and a questionnaire survey in order to identify the motivations of visitors to this site. It emerged that education, curiosity and remembrance were the dominant motivations of visitors while almost all expressed the emotional impact of the visit

Predicting COVID-19 prognosis in the ICU remained challenging: external validation in a multinational regional cohort

Objective: Many prediction models for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been developed. External validation is mandatory before implementation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). We selected and validated prognostic models in the Euregio Intensive Care COVID (EICC) cohort. Study design and setting: In this multinational cohort study, routine data from COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs within the Euregio Meuse-Rhine were collected from March to August 2020. COVID-19 models were selected based on model type, predictors, outcomes, and reporting. Furthermore, general ICU scores were assessed. Discrimination was assessed by area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) and calibration by calibration-in-the-large and calibration plots. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to pool results. Results: 551 patients were admitted. Mean age was 65.4±11.2 years, 29% were female, and ICU mortality was 36%. Nine out of 238 published models were externally validated. Pooled AUCs were between 0.53 and 0.70 and calibration-in-the-large between -9% and 6%. Calibration plots showed generally poor but, for the 4C Mortality score and SEIMC score, moderate calibration. Conclusion: Of the nine prognostic models that were externally validated in the EICC cohort, only two showed reasonable discrimination and moderate calibration. For future pandemics, better models based on routine data are needed to support admission decision-making

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

Prevalence and Predictors of Patient Nonadherence to Pharmacological Acute Pain Therapy at Home After Day Surgery:A Prospective Cohort Study

BackgroundGood adherence to prescribed analgesics can be crucial to suppress or even prevent acute postoperative pain after day surgery. The aim of this study was to analyze prevalence and predictors of analgesic nonadherence after day surgery. MethodsElective patients scheduled for day surgery were prospectively enrolled from November 2008 to April 2010. Outcome parameters were measured by using questionnaire packages at 2 time points: 1week preoperatively and 4days postoperatively. The primary outcome parameter was analgesic nonadherence. Adherence was defined according to the patient's response to the questionnaire item analgesia use as prescribed: full adherence, yes; partial adherence, yes, sometimes; nonadherence, no. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of analgesic nonadherence. ResultsA total of 1,248 patients were included. The prevalence rates of analgesic nonadherence and partial adherence were 21.6% and 20.0%, respectively, in the total study population but dropped to 9.4% and 19.8%, respectively, in patients with moderate to severe pain. Low postoperative pain intensity and short duration of surgery were the most important predictors of analgesic nonadherence. The most important preoperative predictors for analgesic nonadherence were low preoperative pain intensity, low preoperative expectations of pain, and low fear of short-term effects of surgery. ConclusionAnalgesic nonadherence and partial adherence are common after day surgery but decrease as average pain intensity increases. Patients at risk for analgesic nonadherence can be identified during the preoperative period based on preoperative pain intensity, preoperative expectations of pain, and fear of surgery.analgesia; pain; postoperative; pain assessmen

Tolerance to nitroglycerin through proteasomal down-regulation of aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 in a genetic mouse model of ascorbate deficiency: Nitrate tolerance in ascorbate deficiency

L-gulonolactone oxidase-deficient (Gulo(-/-)) mice were used to study the effects of ascorbate deficiency on aortic relaxation by nitroglycerin (GTN) with focus on changes in the expression and activity of vascular aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2), which catalyses GTN bioactivation

The effect of polymyxin on plant roots

Root growth of young seedlings of barley and other species was substantially inhibited when placed in 5-10 p.p.m. solutions of the antibiotic, polymyxin B. The inhibiting effect was suppressed by simultaneous presentation of an excess of calcium ions. Polymyxin solutions of the same concentration had no adverse effect on germination. Brief exposure of normal roots of seedlings to 50-100 p.p.m. polymyxin resulted in cessation of further growth or cation uptake, and irreversible injury accompanied by loss of organic and inorganic constituents from the root cells. Simultaneous presentation of calcium nullified these effects. It appears likely that calcium and polymyxin are retained at the same absorption sites, and that to prevent polymyxin absorption a large excess of calcium cations is required. If absorbed, however, polymyxin causes disorganization of cell membranes to the extent that cell contents are released into the medium. These observations parallel closely the bactericidal action of this antibiotic on certain microorganisms, and suggest that there are general features common to the cell walls of roots and bacteria.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32524/1/0000619.pd