Von Geschlecht keine Spur? Berufsorientierung an allgemeinbildenden Schulen

Die Berufsorientierung ist an allgemeinbildenden Schulen in den vergangenen Jahren erheblich ausgebaut worden. Nach wie vor ist dabei die geschlechterstereotype Berufswahl dominierend. Ziel des berufsorientierenden Unterrichts ist aber auch eine Erweiterung des Berufswahlspektrums von Jungen und Mädchen. Am Beispiel Hamburger Schulen wurde untersucht, ob und wie es gelingt, eine gendersensible Berufsorientierung im schulischen Rahmen umzusetzen. Es zeigt sich, dass bildungspolitische Vorgaben in der Praxis nur partiell umgesetzt werden, den Bildungsaspirationen der Schüler/innen nur bedingt Rechnung getragen wird und der Anspruch, Geschlechterklischees in der Berufswahl abzubauen, noch weitgehend ungelöst ist

Migratory Status Is Not Related to the Susceptibility to HPAIV H5N1 in an Insectivorous Passerine Species

Migratory birds have evolved elaborate physiological adaptations to travelling, the implications for their susceptibility to avian influenza are however unknown. Three groups of stonechats (Saxicola torquata) from (I) strongly migrating, (II) weakly migrating and (III) non-migrating populations were experimentally infected with HPAIV H5N1. The different bird groups of this insectivorous passerine species were infected in autumn, when the migrating populations clearly exhibit migratory restlessness. Following infection, all animals succumbed to the disease from 3 through 7 days post inoculation. Viral shedding, antigen distribution in tissues, and survival time did not differ between the three populations. However, notably, endothelial tropism of the HPAIV infection was exclusively seen in the group of resident birds. In conclusion, our data document for the first time the high susceptibility of an insectivorous passerine species to H5N1 infection, and the epidemiological role of these passerine birds is probably limited due to their high sensitivity to HPAIV H5N1 infection. Despite pronounced inherited differences in migratory status, the groups were generally indistinguishable in their susceptibility, survival time, clinical symptoms and viral shedding. Nevertheless, the migratory status partly influenced pathogenesis in the way of viral tropism

A Cluster-Randomised Trial of Staff Education to Improve the Quality of Life of People with Dementia Living in Residential Care: The DIRECT Study

BACKGROUND: The Dementia In Residential care: EduCation intervention Trial (DIRECT) was conducted to determine if delivery of education designed to meet the perceived need of GPs and care staff improves the quality of life of participants with dementia living in residential care. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This cluster-randomised controlled trial was conducted in 39 residential aged care facilities in the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. 351 care facility residents aged 65 years and older with Mini-Mental State Examination ≤ 24, their GPs and facility staff participated. Flexible education designed to meet the perceived needs of learners was delivered to GPs and care facility staff in intervention groups. The primary outcome of the study was self-rated quality of life of participants with dementia, measured using the QOL-Alzheimer's Disease Scale (QOL-AD) at 4 weeks and 6 months after the conclusion of the intervention. Analysis accounted for the effect of clustering by using multi-level regression analysis. Education of GPs or care facility staff did not affect the primary outcome at either 4 weeks or 6 months. In a post hoc analysis excluding facilities in which fewer than 50% of staff attended an education session, self-rated QOL-AD scores were 6.14 points (adjusted 95%CI 1.14, 11.15) higher at four-week follow-up among residents in facilities randomly assigned to the education intervention. CONCLUSION: The education intervention directed at care facilities or GPs did not improve the quality of life ratings of participants with dementia as a group. This may be explained by the poor adherence to the intervention programme, as participants with dementia living in facilities where staff participated at least minimally seemed to benefit. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ANZCTR.org.au ACTRN12607000417482

PGC-1β modulates catabolism and fiber atrophy in the fasting-response of specific skeletal muscle beds

Skeletal muscle is a pivotal organ for the coordination of systemic metabolism, constituting one of the largest storage site for glucose, lipids and amino acids. Tight temporal orchestration of protein breakdown in times of fasting has to be balanced with preservation of muscle mass and function. However, the molecular mechanisms that control the fasting response in muscle are poorly understood.; We now have identified a role for the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1β (PGC-1β) in the regulation of catabolic pathways in this context in muscle-specific loss-of-function mouse models.; Muscle-specific knockouts for PGC-1β experience mitigated muscle atrophy in fasting, linked to reduced expression of myostatin, atrogenes, activation of AMP-dependent protein kinase (AMPK) and other energy deprivation signaling pathways. At least in part, the muscle fasting response is modulated by a negative effect of PGC-1β on the nuclear factor of activated T-cells 1 (NFATC1).; Collectively, these data highlight the complex regulation of muscle metabolism and reveal a new role for muscle PGC-1β in the control of proteostasis in fasting

Once a feminist: Lynne Segal on Grace Paley’s The Little Disturbances of Man

The following contributions came in response to a request, sent to a number of key figures in feminism today, to write on a text that had been formative for their thinking as feminists. The chosen text could be a theory, a novel, an artwork, a performance, a poem: one that had stimulated, or even revolutionised, their ideas. As we hoped, this project has created a selection of texts central to our many and different experiences as feminists. I used to say that Margaret Drabble's The Garrick Year was the story of my life, in my early twenties, as if I was just a creature of time and circumstance. I read The Garrick Year sometime between October 1965, when my first child was born, and the end of 1967, before my marriage disintegrated. Like the heroine Emma Evans, I married a successful actor, had a child, and followed his career—which in the novel led Emma to Hereford for a summer season of plays

Quality-of-life evaluations in children and adolescents with Ewing sarcoma treated with pencil-beam-scanning proton therapy.

BACKGROUND With improved survival rates for children with cancer, quality-of-life (QoL) issues have increasingly become the focus of attention. We report the QoL of children with Ewing sarcoma (EWS) treated with pencil-beam-scanning proton therapy (PT). METHODS A PEDQOL (QoL questionnaire for children 4-18 years) self/proxy questionnaire was used to prospectively assess the QoL of 23 children <18 years with EWS treated with PT. This questionnaire evaluates eight different domains. Children (self-rating) and parents (proxy-rating) filled out the questionnaire at the start of PT (E1), 2 months after treatment (E2), and thereafter once yearly (E≥3). RESULTS Compared with healthy controls, parents rated the QoL of their children at E1 significantly worse in all but two (cognition and social functioning-family) domains. At E4, significant differences between the two groups only remained in three of eight domains. At E1, children self-rated their QoL significantly worse in the domain Physical functioning (p = .004) and significantly better in the domain Body image (p = .044) compared to healthy controls, whereas no significant differences were observed at E4. For the longitudinal comparison E1 versus E4, according to parents, Emotional functioning, Cognition and Social functioning-peers were slightly decreased 2 years after PT. The children rated Emotional functioning and Body image poorly 2 years after PT. CONCLUSIONS Children with EWS usually recovered seemingly well to normal QoL levels 2 years after the end of PT. They tended to rate their QoL substantially higher than their parents. However, in the longitudinal analysis at 2 years, children rated their Emotional functioning and Body image scores poorly

The frequency of detection of unexpected diabetes mellitus during haemoglobinopathy investigations

ABSTRACT Aims To establish the frequency of detection of previously undiagnosed diabetes mellitus as a result of detection of an increased glycated fraction of haemoglobin during high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for haemoglobinopathy diagnosis. Methods A prospective study was carried out over a 3-month period. During that period a total of 2094 patient samples were received for haemoglobinopathy investigation and were included in the study. Results Fifty samples were found to have an apparent increase in the glycated haemoglobin fraction and of these 38 were found to be from patients with known diabetes. Previously undiagnosed diabetes was discovered in 11 patients and it is likely that the twelfth patient also had diabetes. Conclusions The detection of evidence of undiagnosed diabetes during HPLC haemoglobinopathy investigations is not rare, there being four cases per month in this study. This incidental observation should be reported to clinical staff. A proportion of haemoglobin A undergoes posttranslational modification including glycosylation (non-enzymatic addition of glucose to the aminoterminal valine of the b chain) or glycation (less specifically, addition of carbohydrate to a protein). 1 Glycosylation occurs throughout the life-span of the red cell, at a rate determined by the ambient glucose concentration. Glycated haemoglobin is known as haemoglobin A 1 , of which 60e80% is glycosylated haemoglobin, haemoglobin A 1c . 1 In patients with diabetes mellitus, the proportion of haemoglobin that is haemoglobin A 1c has been found to be useful as an indication of the degree of hyperglycaemia during the preceding 3 months. In addition, since there are few other causes of an elevated haemoglobin A 1c , the finding of an elevated proportion can be useful in diagnosis. Glycated haemoglobin includes a labile fraction, which responds rapidly and transiently to raised blood glucose levels, and a stable fraction, to which the labile fraction is converted. 1 It is the stable fraction that is useful in judging long-term control of diabetes. Haemoglobin A 1c can be quantified by a variety of methods, of which high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is increasingly used. When suspected haemoglobinopathies are investigated by cellulose acetate electrophoresis, the glycated fraction is not resolved and no specific abnormality is apparent in diabetic patients. However, when the technique used for such investigations is HPLC, the presence of a glycated fraction may be apparent. Our laboratory has previously drawn attention to the possibility that this may lead to the diagnosis of previously unsuspected diabetes mellitus. 2 Early diagnosis and good control of diabetes mellitus is important in reducing the end-organ damage that is characteristic of this disease, and it is therefore important for haematologists to alert clinical staff to the probability of this diagnosis when an increased proportion of glycated haemoglobin is observed. We therefore carried out a study to determine the frequency with which this is observed, and as a result of this study we developed a policy for notification of an increased glycated fraction to clinical staff. MATERIALS AND METHODS All tests were performed on peripheral blood samples anticoagulated with EDTA. HPLC for establishing relevant reference ranges and for haemoglobinopathy investigations was performed on a Bio-Rad Variant II instrument (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hemel Hempstead, UK) using the b-Thalassaemia Short Program. Haemoglobin A 1c was quantified by HPLC using a Tosoh A1c 2.2 instrument. One hundred and two samples were obtained from fully informed young healthy volunteers of north European origin, in order to establish a reference range for haemoglobin A 2 . Data from the same samples were used to establish a reference range for peak 2 (P2), this being the peak with a retention time slightly longer than that of haemoglobin F, which we had previously noted to be increased in patients with an increased proportion of haemoglobin A 1c . The instruction manual of the Variant II states &apos;Diabetic specimens typically exhibit an elevated P2 peak&apos;. In order to investigate the relationship between P2 on the Bio-Rad Variant II and haemoglobin A 1c on the Tosoh A1c 2.2, 93 samples from either healthy volunteers or patients with an elevated glycated fraction were studied in parallel on the two instruments. Results of all patients investigated by our haemoglobinopathy laboratory were surveyed over a 3-month period and when a sample was found to have a P2 fraction of 6% or greater, haemoglobin A 1c was measured and we investigated whether or not a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus had previously been established. If a review of request forms and laboratory records did not disclose this diagnosis, we contacted relevant clinical staff and requested review of clinical notes. If the patient had not been identified previously as suffering from diabetes mellitus, further tests were advised in order to confirm the diagnosis. Subsequently we followed-up the results of these confirmatory tests. Tests done were those usually carried out by the relevant clinical staff in order to confirm a diagnosis of diabetes

Factors Associated with Self and Informant Ratings of the Quality of Life of People with Dementia Living in Care Facilities: A Cross Sectional Study

There is no consensus regarding the optimal approach to assessment of the quality of life of people with dementia. We undertook the present study to describe and determine the factors associated with ratings of the quality of life of a cohort of people with dementia living in a residential care facility.351 people with dementia living in residential care facilities, and their staff and family informants participated in this cross sectional observational study. Quality of life was measured using self (Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease [QoL-AD] scale), and informant (QoL-AD and Alzheimer's Disease Related QoL Scale) reports. 226 people (64%) with dementia (median MMSE 17; 12-21) were able to self rate the QoL-AD scale and these subjects' ratings were compared to ratings by staff and family. Both staff and family informant ratings of the QoL-AD underestimated self ratings (mean difference -7.8, 95% CI -8.8, -6.7 for staff rated QoL-AD; and mean difference -7.2, 95% CI -8.5, -6.0 for family rated QoL-AD). Self ratings of QoL were lower among people who were restrained, had fallen or had pain. Informant ratings of the QoL of the participants with dementia were consistently and significantly lower for people with severe cognitive impairment, who had fallen, had presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms, or where care giver distress was present. Documented restraint, reported pain and neuropsychiatric symptoms were independently associated with lower self rating of the QoL-AD in multivariate models. Cognitive impairment, case conferencing, hospitalizations and neuropsychiatric symptoms were found to be independently associated with staff rated ADRQL.The majority of people with dementia living in residential care facilities can rate their own QoL. Informant ratings underestimate self ratings of QoL of people with dementia, and appear to be associated with factors which are not associated with self ratings

Evaluation of the inion and asterion as neurosurgical landmarks for dural venous sinuses: osteological study on a sample of South African skull specimens

BACKGROUND : Sub-Saharan neurosurgeons most likely need to perform invasive procedures without the latest imaging and navigation technology in the operating room. Therefore, these surgeons need to utilize other methods such as superficial surface landmarks for neuro-navigation. Bony landmarks, including the inion and asterion, are commonly used during invasive procedures to pinpoint the location of the confluence of sinuses and transverse-sigmoid sinus junction, respectively. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the inion and asterion can be used as superficial landmarks for the confluence of sinuses and the transverse-sigmoid sinus junction, respectively, in a South African population. METHODS : Fifty South African human skulls were used (25 male, 25 female). The micro-focus X-ray radiography and tomography facility (MIXRAD) at Necsa scanned and created three-dimensional virtual images of the skull specimens. Reference points were then inserted on the images and the relation between bony landmarks and venous sinuses was documented. RESULTS : The inion was directly related to the confluence of sinuses in 4% of the sample, whereas the asterion was directly related to the transverse-sigmoid sinus junction in 28% of the cases, on both the right and left sides. CONCLUSIONS : This study confirmed that neither the inion, nor the asterion, are directly related the confluence of sinuses and transverse-sigmoid sinus junction, respectively. These bony landmarks are more likely to be located either inferior, or not related at all, to the investigated dural venous sinuses.https://www.minervamedica.it/en/journals/neurosurgical-sciences2022-04-01hj2022Anatom