Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
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Intervention effects of greenspace exposure on human microbiota: A randomized controlled trial in Chinese young adults
Get PDFHow Can Children in the Mara Region, Tanzania, Be Successfully Integrated into Inclusive Educational Programs Despite Significant Structural and Organizational Challenges?
Get PDFThis paper explores the integration of children into inclusive educational programs in the Mara Region of Tanzania, despite considerable structural and organizational challenges. The central research question is: How can children in the Mara Region be successfully integrated into inclusive educational programs? To address this question, a qualitative case study approach was employed. Data were collected through questionnaires and observations across five educational institutions to identify both success factors and obstacles in the implementation of inclusive education. The findings indicate that major challenges include limited financial and material resources, inadequate teacher training, and persistent societal prejudices. Conversely, key success factors comprise targeted pedagogical support, active parental involvement, and pragmatic adaptations of instructional practices to local conditions. These insights underscore the urgent need for structural reforms within Tanzania’s education system. The study recommends enhancing teacher education, expanding accessible infrastructure, and increasing public awareness of the value and principles of inclusive education
Natural waxes from plant and animal origin as dielectrics for low-voltage organic field effect transistors
No full textWe demonstrate in this work the practical use of naturally extracted waxes of plant and animal origin, i.e., beeswax, carnauba wax, rice bran wax, lanolin wax, and two shellac waxes as dielectrics in organic field effect transistors (OFETs). We present a thorough characterization of their material properties, processability and film forming characteristic, surface characterization, dielectric investigation and the fabrication of field effect transistors with two classic organic semiconductors, i.e., pentacene and fullerene C60. We show that operating voltages as low as 1 V are possible for all the OFETs using blade coating as fabrication method of waxes solubilized in their appropriate solvent, chloroform or n-octane. Although in general difficult to process in thin films, we demonstrate in this work the practical applicability of these natural waxes for electronics fabrication
Real-world datasets for the International Registry for Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias (InRAD) and other registries: An international consensus
Get PDFBackground: Many dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) registries operate at local or national levels without standardization or comprehensive real-world data (RWD) collection. This initiative sought to achieve consensus among experts on priority outcomes and measures for clinical practice in caring for patients with symptomatic AD, particularly in the mild cognitive impairment and mild to moderate dementia stages.
Objective: The primary aim was to define a minimum dataset (MDS) and extended dataset (EDS) to collect RWD in the new International Registry for AD and Other Dementias (InRAD) and other AD registries. The MDS and EDS focus on informing routine clinical practice, covering relevant comorbidities and safety, and are designed to be easily integrated into existing data capture systems.
Methods and results: An international steering committee (ISC) of AD clinician experts lead the initiative. The first drafts of the MDS and EDS were developed based on a previous global inter-societal Delphi consensus on outcome measures for AD. Based on the ISC discussions, a survey was devised and sent to a wider stakeholder group. The ISC discussed the survey results, resulting in a consensus MDS and EDS covering: patient profile and demographics; lifestyle and anthropometrics; co-morbidities and diagnostics; imaging; treatment; clinical characterization; safety; discontinuation; laboratory tests; patient and care partner outcomes; and interface functionality.
Conclusion: By learning from successful examples in other clinical areas, addressing current limitations, and proactively enhancing data quality and analytical rigor, the InRAD registry will be a foundation to contribute to improving patient care and outcomes in neurodegenerative diseases
Integration of multiple machine learning approaches develops a gene mutation-based classifier for accurate immunotherapy outcomes
Get PDFIn addition to traditional biomarkers like PD-(L)1 expression and tumor mutation burden (TMB), more reliable methods for predicting immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) response in cancer patients are urgently needed. This study utilized multiple machine learning approaches on nonsynonymous mutations to identify key mutations that are most significantly correlated to ICB response. We proposed a classifier, Gene mutation-based Predictive Signature (GPS), to categorize patients based on their predicted response and clinical outcomes post-ICB therapy. GPS outperformed conventional predictors when validated in independent cohorts. Multi-omics analysis and multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) revealed insights into tumor immunogenicity, immune responses, and the tumor microenvironment (TME) in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) across different GPS groups. Finally, we validated distinct responses of different GPS samples to ICB in an ex-vivo tumor organoid-PBMC co-culture model. Overall, our findings highlight a simple, robust classifier for accurate ICB response prediction, which could reduce costs, shorten testing times, and facilitate clinical implementation
The microRNA profile of brain-derived extracellular vesicles: A promising step forward in developing pharmacodynamic biomarkers for psychiatric disorders
Get PDFMicroRNAs (miRNAs) have the potential to affect drug metabolism, and some drugs affect cellular miRNA expression. miRNAs are found inside extracellular vesicles (EVs), and the profile of these EV-miRNAs can change across different diseases and disease states. Consequently, in recent years EV-miRNAs have attracted increasing attention as possible non-invasive biomarkers. For example, analyzing the miRNA expression profile of brain-derived EVs in blood may allow us to non-invasively assess miRNA dysregulation and thus to gain knowledge about the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders and identify potential new predictive targets. We searched PubMed for all studies related to the effects of psychiatric medications on EV-miRNAs and identified 14 relevant articles. Taken together, findings indicate that certain EV-miRNAs may be targets for psychiatric medications and that antipsychotics such as olanzapine and antidepressants such as fluoxetine may alter the expression levels of particular EV-miRNAs. If confirmed and replicated, these findings may lead to the suggested miRNA profiles being used as pharmacodynamic biomarkers. However, heterogeneities and uncertainties remain regarding the role of EV-miRNAs in psychiatric disorders and their interaction with neuronal gene expression and drugs. This minireview summarizes some of the findings on the effects of psychiatric medications on EV-miRNAs and describes the potential role of EV-miRNAs as pharmacodynamic biomarkers for psychiatric disorders
Who stands on the shoulders of Chinese (Scientific) Giants? Evidence from chemistry
Get PDFChina’s rise in science has the potential to push forward the knowledge frontier, but mere production of knowledge does not guarantee that others are able to build on it. We ask whether chemistry research originating from China offers broad shoulders for follow-on scientists to stand on. We show that even after carefully controlling for the quality of Chinese research, Chinese scientists’ articles receive on average 28% fewer citations from US researchers, relative to scientists from other countries. Only Chinese researchers with unusually deep networks in the US can overcome, at least in part, the citation discount
Cost-effectiveness-analysis of oral health remotivation and reinstruction in nursing homes in a cluster-randomized controlled trial
Get PDFObjectives
We conducted a cluster-randomized-controlled trial (cRCT) in 18 German nursing homes (NH) to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of reinstruction and remotivation of nursing staff by dental assistants (DAs) over 13 months.
Methods
In the intervention arm, dentists examined NH residents, identified oral health conditions, and prescribed individualized oral care interventions. Nursing staff delivered these interventions, with regular follow-up support from DAs (reinstruction and remotivation). In the control group, similar interventions were prescribed via a standardized form, without reinstruction and remotivation (standard of care). The primary outcome was Oral-Health-related Quality-of-Life (OHrQoL) using the Geriatric/General Oral Health Assessment Index (ADD-GOHAI). Secondary outcomes included Health-related Quality-of-Life (HrQoL) using the EQ-5D summary index and caries experience (DMFT index). Costs, including those for staff, materials, and travel, were assessed in Euro 2022. Cost-effectiveness ratios and bootstrapping simulations assessed cost-effectiveness-acceptability at different willingness-to-pay thresholds.
Results
Of 358 recruited participants, 68 and 63 in the intervention and control group completed the study. No significant differences existed between groups in demographics or baseline health measures. After 13 months, changes in ADD-GOHAI and DMFT scores were minimal and non-significant, while EQ-5D scores decreased in the intervention group (p < 0.001). Total costs were higher in the intervention arm (median 121.10 Euro) versus the control (median 0 Euro, p < 0.001), mainly due to travel expenses. The intervention increased dental service use but demonstrated lower cost-effectiveness acceptability.
Conclusions
DA-led reinstruction did not improve OHrQoL, negatively impacted HrQoL, and increased costs. Notably, our study was suffering from significant attrition, impacting on statistical power.
Clinical significance
Reinstruction and remotivation by dental assistants did not improve OHrQoL, but generated significant costs, mainly due to an uptake of dental services