155155 research outputs found
Sort by
Anthropocene, planetary boundaries and tipping points: interdisciplinarity and values in Earth system science
Get PDFChanges in experience and behavior of schizophrenic patients in therapy groups improve functioning and symptoms. RCT with 154 outpatients in CR-group compared to TAU
Get PDFFor the treatment of schizophrenia patients, some evidence-based group therapy approaches with different treatment goals are available today, also in cognitive remediation. However, there is little to no data on how the group factor, as an unspecific mechanism of change, affects the treatment outcome in schizophrenia patients. Does participation in goal-directed groups per se affect treatment outcome?
Methods: To address this gap, a group approach to cognitive remediation developed in our laboratory (Integrated Neurocognitive Therapy, INT) was compared with control patients who did not participate in therapy groups (Treatment As Usual, TAU). 154 outpatients with schizophrenia were randomly assigned to INT (N=79) or TAU (n=75). INT was administered twice a week for a therapy duration of 15 weeks. A comprehensive test battery was assessed before and after therapy, as well as at the 1-year follow-up in both comparison groups. The group factor was assessed with the newly developed short questionnaire "Experience and Behavior in Therapy Groups EBIT", which comprises 11 items.
Results: The therapy group showed significantly better effects in EBIT outcome compared to controls regarding the global score (mean of all EBIT items) (GLM: F=5.42, p <.01) as well as the empirical 2-factor solution using factor analysis: factor 1 (inactivity and fear) (GLM: F=5.05; p <.01) and factor 2 (eye contact and attention during communication) (F=4.02, p=.02). Additionally, EBIT scores are significantly associated with improvement in cognition, negative and general symptoms after treatment. Furthermore, EBIT scores are also significantly correlated with treatment motivation and therapy attendance rate but not with positive symptoms and medication.
Conclusion: The group factor can be identified and measured using a brief questionnaire. Additionally, the experience and behavior in groups have a supplement positive effect on various group outcome variables
Mitral regurgitation in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: The interplay of valve, ventricle, and atrium.
No full textMitral regurgitation (MR) is highly prevalent among patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Despite this combination being closely associated with unfavourable outcomes, it remains relatively understudied. This is partly due to the inherent heterogeneity of patients with HFpEF. To address this gap, dissecting HFpEF into mechanism-based phenotypes may offer a promising avenue for advancing our comprehension of these complex intertwined conditions. This review employs the validated CircAdapt model to explore the haemodynamic implications of moderate to severe MR across a well-defined spectrum of myocardial disease, characterized by impaired relaxation and reduced myocardial compliance. Both heart failure and mitral valve disease share overlapping symptomatology, primarily attributed to elevated pulmonary pressures. The intricate mechanisms contributing to these elevated pressures are multifaceted, potentially influenced by diastolic dysfunction, left atrial myopathy, and MR. Accurate evaluation of the haemodynamic and clinical impact of MR necessitates a comprehensive approach, taking into account the characteristics of both the left atrium and left ventricle, as well as their intricate interactions, which may currently be underemphasized in diagnostic practice. This holistic assessment is imperative for enhancing our understanding and refining therapeutic strategies within this patient cohort
A Systematic Review of the Gonadotoxicity of Osteosarcoma and Ewing's Sarcoma Chemotherapies in Postpubertal Females and Males.
No full textData on gonadotoxicity of chemotherapies are essential to better counsel young females and males about the risk of infertility and to better indicate fertility preservation measures before cancer therapies. However, such data have not recently been reviewed for bone cancer. Therefore, a systematic literature search was conducted considering papers published since 2000. This study is part of the FertiTOX® project, which aims to improve the lack of data regarding gonadotoxicity of cancer therapies to enable more accurate counseling regarding fertility preservation. Only relapse-free women and men were included. Gonadotoxic therapy-induced suspected infertility was defined as very low anti-mullerian hormone, high gonadotropin concentration, amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, azoospermia, or oligozoospermia. The quality of the individual studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). In total, 11 out of 831 studies were included in the review. Suspected infertility was found in 10/190 (5.1%, range 0%-66%) of female patients with osteosarcoma (six studies), in 24/46 (52.2%, range 46%-100%) of male patients with osteosarcoma (three studies), in 18/138 (13.0%, range 3%-18%) of female patients with Ewing's sarcoma (three studies), and in 34/38 (89.5%) of male patients with Ewing's sarcoma (one study). A risk calculation in relation to specific chemotherapies was not possible. Risk of suspected infertility tends to be higher in Ewing's sarcoma in which all patients received chemotherapies with alkylating agents. Two of the 11 included studies received a high NOS quality score, whereas the remaining nine studies received a low quality score, mainly because of the lack of a comparator group. Published data are too limited for precise estimation of the gonadotoxicity. However, data indicate clinically relevant risk for infertility, supporting counseling patients before chemotherapy about fertility preservation measures
Durability of CLOSE-Guided Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: A Prospective Remapping Study.
No full textBACKGROUND
Recurrence of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) following pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is presumably caused by pulmonary vein (PV) reconnections. However, there is little data available on the durability of PVI and incidence of arrhythmia recurrence in patients with persistent AF.
OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the lesion durability by means of an a priori planned remapping procedure in patients with persistent AF undergoing CLOSE-guided PVI.
METHODS
In a prospective study, we included patients with symptomatic, persistent AF undergoing CLOSE-guided radiofrequency ablation. Irrespective of AF recurrence, a redo procedure was mandated 6 months following the index procedure to evaluate PV reconnections. The outcome of AF ablation was based on clinical recurrence and 7-day Holter electrocardiogram 3 and 6 months after the index procedure and 3, 6, and 12 months after the redo procedure.
RESULTS
Of 30 patients included, 26 (81% men; median age 68 years) underwent the planned remapping study a median of 6 months after the index procedure, whereas 4 patients without recurrence refused a repeat procedure. In total, 78 of 102 (76%) PVs showed durable isolation and 15 patients (58%) presented complete isolation of all PVs. Beyond the blanking period, 6 of 26 patients (23%) had arrhythmia recurrence before the redo procedure. Recurrence had occurred in 33% of patients with complete isolation of all veins and in 9% of patients with PV reconnections (P = 0.197). After re-PVI in patients with PV reconnections and additional ablation in patients with recurrence but durable PVI, 17 of 26 patients (65%) were free of arrhythmia after 12 months.
CONCLUSIONS
In patients with persistent AF, CLOSE-guided PVI resulted in durable rate of PVI on a per-vein and per-patient level of 76% and 58%, respectively. Arrhythmia recurrence was numerically higher in patients with durable PVI compared with patients without
Review: Opportunities and challenges for the genetic selection of dairy calf disease traits.
Get PDFInterest in dairy cow health continues to grow as we better understand health's relationship with production potential and animal welfare. Over the past decade, efforts have been made to incorporate health traits into national genetic evaluations. However, they have focused on the mature cow, with calf health largely being neglected. Diarrhoea and respiratory disease comprise the main illnesses with regard to calf health. Conventional methods to control calf disease involve early separation of calves from the dam and housing calves individually. However, public concern regarding these methods, and growing evidence that these methods may negatively impact calf development, mean the dairy industry may move away from these practices. Genetic selection may be a promising tool to address these major disease issues. In this review, we examined current literature for enhancing calf health through genetics and discussed alternative approaches to improve calf health via the use of epidemiological modelling approaches, and the potential of indirectly selecting for improved calf health through improving colostrum quality. Heritability estimates on the observed scale for diarrhoea ranged from 0.03 to 0.20, while for respiratory disease, estimates ranged from 0.02 to 0.24. The breadth in these ranges is due, at least in part, to differences in disease prevalence, population structure, data editing and models, as well as data collection practices, which should be all considered when comparing literature values. Incorporation of epidemiological theory into quantitative genetics provides an opportunity to better determine the level of genetic variation in disease traits, as it accounts for disease transmission among contemporaries. Colostrum intake is a major determinant of whether a calf develops either respiratory disease or diarrhoea. Colostrum traits have the advantage of being measured and reported on a continuous scale, which removes the issues classically associated with binary disease traits. Overall, genetic selection for improved calf health is feasible. However, to ensure the maximum response, first steps by any industry members should focus efforts on standardising recording practices and encouragement of uploading information to genetic evaluation centres through herd management software, as high-quality phenotypes are the backbone of any successful breeding programme
Combination of altimetry crossovers and Doppler observables for precise orbit determination of a Callisto orbiter and geodetic parameter recovery
Get PDFComment on ‘A global system of furrows on Ganymede indicative of their creation in a single impact event’ by Hirata, N., Suetsugu, R. and Ohtsuki, K. (Icarus 352, 2020): Investigating the influence of the hypothesized ancient impactor on Ganymede's orbital eccentricity
Get PDFThe orbital eccentricity of a satellite may undergo significant alterations over time due to
gravitational interactions with its parent planet and adjacent moons, as well as through other
mechanisms, such impact by a sizable object. Ganymede is notably engaged in an orbital
resonance with Io and Europa, where Ganymede completes one orbit around Jupiter for every
two orbits of Europa and four orbits of Io. Nevertheless, Ganymede’s free eccentricity
component should have damped by the present tim
e. It has been hypothesized that Ganymede
was struck by a large impactor early in its history, generating sets of concentric furrows visible in
its most ancient dark terrains (Hirata et al., 2020). In this study, we investigate the size of the
impactor needed to pump Ganymede’s free eccentricity up to its current value. Utilizing the
constraints published on a hypothesized ancient impactor, we compare the calculated
dimensions of the asteroidal or cometary impactor with the calculated requisite mass needed to
excite Ganymede’s orbital eccentricity. Given a head
-on collision with no alteration in rotational
dynamics and at a speed of 20 km/s, we deduce that pumping Ganymede's eccentricity to
0.0013 necessitates an impactor mass of 2.8274×1019 kg, aligning with the mass estimates for
the theorized ancient impactor. As Ganymede’s oldest dark terrains are believed to be about 4
Ga old, a more comprehensive analysis of the impactor's influence on Ganymede's orbital
dynamics and possible effect on the resonance with Io and Europa is needed
Pectin methylesterification state and cell wall mechanical properties contribute to neighbor proximity-induced hypocotyl growth in Arabidopsis.
Get PDFPlants growing with neighbors compete for light and consequently increase the growth of their vegetative organs to enhance access to sunlight. This response, called shade avoidance syndrome (SAS), involves photoreceptors such as phytochromes as well as phytochrome interacting factors (PIFs), which regulate the expression of growth-mediating genes. Numerous cell wall-related genes belong to the putative targets of PIFs, and the importance of cell wall modifications for enabling growth was extensively shown in developmental models such as dark-grown hypocotyl. However, the contribution of the cell wall in the growth of de-etiolated seedlings regulated by shade cues remains poorly established. Through analyses of mechanical and biochemical properties of the cell wall coupled with transcriptomic analysis of cell wall-related genes from previously published data, we provide evidence suggesting that cell wall modifications are important for neighbor proximity-induced elongation. Further analysis using loss-of-function mutants impaired in the synthesis and remodeling of the main cell wall polymers corroborated this. We focused on the cgr2cgr3 double mutant that is defective in methylesterification of homogalacturonan (HG)-type pectins. By following hypocotyl growth kinetically and spatially and analyzing the mechanical and biochemical properties of cell walls, we found that methylesterification of HG-type pectins was required to enable global cell wall modifications underlying neighbor proximity-induced hypocotyl growth. Collectively, our work suggests that plant competition for light induces changes in the expression of numerous cell wall genes to enable modifications in biochemical and mechanical properties of cell walls that contribute to neighbor proximity-induced growth
Data sources:
BORIS Portal Bern Open Repository and I...BAF-Online: Proceedings of the Berner Al...HASBonline – Hefte zur Archäologie des M...Informationswissenschaft: Theorie, Metho...Jahrbuch Diakonie SchweizJournal of Eye Movement ResearchJournal of Radiation Oncology Informatic...BOP SerialsVersants. Revista suiza de literaturas r...BORIS ThesesAccess Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Bern Open Repository and Information System (BORIS)? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!