A video life-world approach to consultation practice: The relevance of a socio-phenomenological approach

This article discusses the [development and] use of a video life-world schema to explore alternative orientations to the shared health consultation. It is anticipated that this schema can be used by practitioners and consumers alike to understand the dynamics of videoed health consultations, the role of the participants within it and the potential to consciously alter the outcome by altering behaviour during the process of interaction. The study examines health consultation participation and develops an interpretative method of analysis that includes image elicitation (via videos), phenomenology (to identify the components of the analytic framework), narrative (to depict the stories of interactions) and a reflexive mode (to develop shared meaning through a conceptual framework for analysis). The analytic framework is derived from a life-world conception of human mutual shared interaction which is presented here as a novel approach to understanding patient-centred care. The video materials used in this study were derived from consultations in a Walk-in Centre (WiC) in East London. The conceptual framework produced through the process of video analysis is comprised of different combinations of movement, knowledge and emotional conversations that are used to classify objective or engaged WiC health care interactions. The videoed interactions organise along an active or passive, facilitative or directive typical situation continuum illustrating different kinds of textual approaches to practice that are in tension or harmony. The schema demonstrates how practitioners and consumers interact to produce these outcomes and indicates the potential for both consumers and practitioners to be educated to develop practice dynamics that support patient-centred care and impact on health outcomes

A new hammer to crack an old nut : interspecific competitive resource capture by plants is regulated by nutrient supply, not climate

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Results from the dissemination of an evidence-based telephone-delivered intervention for healthy lifestyle and weight loss: the Optimal Health Program

Despite proven efficacy, there are few published evaluations of telephone-delivered interventions targeting physical activity, healthy eating, and weight loss in community dissemination contexts. This study aims to evaluate participant and program outcomes from the Optimal Health Program, a telephone-delivered healthy lifestyle and weight loss program provided by a primary health care organization. Dissemination study used a single-group, repeated measures design; outcomes were assessed at 6-month (mid-program; n = 166) and 12-month (end of program; n = 88) using paired analyses. The program reached a representative sample of at-risk, primary care patients, with 56 % withdrawing before program completion. Among completers, a statistically significant improvement between baseline and end of program was observed for weight [mean change (SE) −5.4 (7.0) kg] and waist circumference [−4.8 (9.7) cm], underpinned by significant physical activity and dietary change. Findings suggest that telephone-delivered weight loss and healthy lifestyle programs can provide an effective model for use in primary care settings, but participant retention remains a challenge

Prenatal gyrification pattern affects age at onset in frontotemporal dementia

Supplementary data: Harper_et_al_Supplementary_211111_bhab457 (docx file) - available online at https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhab457 .Copyright © The Author(s) 2022. The paracingulate sulcus is a tertiary sulcus formed during the third trimester. In healthy individuals paracingulate sulcation is more prevalent in the left hemisphere. The anterior cingulate and paracingulate gyri are focal points of neurodegeneration in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). This study aims to determine the prevalence and impact of paracingulate sulcation in bvFTD. Structural magnetic resonance images of individuals with bvFTD (n = 105, mean age 66.9 years), Alzheimer’s disease (n = 92, 73.3), and healthy controls (n = 110, 62.4) were evaluated using standard protocol for hemispheric paracingulate sulcal presence. No difference in left hemisphere paracingulate sulcal frequency was observed between groups; 0.72, 0.79, and 0.70, respectively, in the bvFTD, Alzheimer’s disease, and healthy control groups, (P = 0.3). A significant impact of right (but not left) hemispheric paracingulate sulcation on age at disease onset was identified in bvFTD (mean 60.4 years where absent vs. 63.8 where present [P = 0.04, Cohen’s d = 0.42]). This relationship was not observed in Alzheimer’s disease. These findings demonstrate a relationship between prenatal neuronal development and the expression of a neurodegenerative disease providing a gross morphological example of brain reserve.Work at the Clinical Memory Research Unit Lund University was supported by the Swedish Research Council (2016–00906); the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation (2017–0383); the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg foundation (2015.0125); the Strategic Research Area MultiPark (Multidisciplinary Research in Parkinson’s disease) at Lund University, the Swedish Alzheimer Foundation (AF-939932); the Swedish Brain Foundation (FO2019–0326); The Parkinson foundation of Sweden (1280/20); the Skåne University Hospital Foundation (2020-O000028); Regionalt Forskningsstöd (2020–0314); and the Swedish Federal Government under the ALF Agreement (2018-Projekt0279). Additional funding to A.F.S. was provided by the Swedish Society for Medical Research and the Bente Rexed Gersteds Foundation for Brain Research. L.H., A.F.S., and O.L. are all supported by the Schörling foundation. The UCL Dementia Research Centre is supported by Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Brain Research UK, and The Wolfson Foundation. This work was supported by the National Institute of Health Research UCL/H Biomedical Research Centre and the UK Dementia Research Institute, which receives its funding from UK DRI Ltd, funded by the UK Medical Research Council, Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK. J.D.R. is supported by the Miriam Marks Brain Research UK Senior Fellowship and has received funding from an Medical Research Council Clinician Scientist Fellowship (MR/M008525/1) and the NIHR Rare Disease Translational Research Collaboration (BRC149/NS/MH); the Alzheimer’s Society, UK (AS-JF-19a-004-517 to M.B.). The funding sources had no role in the design and conduct of the study; in the collection, analysis, interpretation of the data; or in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript

Large-scale collaboration in ENIGMA-EEG: A perspective on the meta-analytic approach to link neurological and psychiatric liability genes to electrophysiological brain activity

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The ENIGMA-EEG working group was established to enable large-scale international collaborations among cohorts that investigate the genetics of brain function measured with electroencephalography (EEG). In this perspective, we will discuss why analyzing the genetics of functional brain activity may be crucial for understanding how neurological and psychiatric liability genes affect the brain. METHODS: We summarize how we have performed our currently largest genome-wide association study of oscillatory brain activity in EEG recordings by meta-analyzing the results across five participating cohorts, resulting in the first genome-wide significant hits for oscillatory brain function located in/near genes that were previously associated with psychiatric disorders. We describe how we have tackled methodological issues surrounding genetic meta-analysis of EEG features. We discuss the importance of harmonizing EEG signal processing, cleaning, and feature extraction. Finally, we explain our selection of EEG features currently being investigated, including the temporal dynamics of oscillations and the connectivity network based on synchronization of oscillations. RESULTS: We present data that show how to perform systematic quality control and evaluate how choices in reference electrode and montage affect individual differences in EEG parameters. CONCLUSION: The long list of potential challenges to our large-scale meta-analytic approach requires extensive effort and organization between participating cohorts; however, our perspective shows that these challenges are surmountable. Our perspective argues that elucidating the genetic of EEG oscillatory activity is a worthwhile effort in order to elucidate the pathway from gene to disease liability

Risk estimates of recurrent congenital anomalies in the UK: a population-based register study

BACKGROUND: Recurrence risks for familial congenital anomalies in successive pregnancies are known, but this information for major structural anomalies is lacking. We estimated the absolute and relative risks of recurrent congenital anomaly in the second pregnancy for women with a history of a congenital anomaly in the first pregnancy; for all major anomaly groups and subtypes. METHODS: Population-based register data on 18,605 singleton pregnancies affected by major congenital anomaly occurring in 872,493 singleton stillbirths, live births and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly were obtained from the Northern Congenital Abnormality Survey, North of England, UK, for 1985-2010. Absolute risks (ARs) and relative risks (RRs) for recurrent congenital anomaly (overall, from a similar group, from a dissimilar group) in the second pregnancy were estimated by history of congenital anomaly (overall, by group, by subtype) in the first pregnancy. RESULTS: The estimated prevalences of congenital anomaly in first and second pregnancies were 276 (95% CI 270-281) and 163 (95% CI 159-168) per 10,000 respectively. For women whose first pregnancy was affected by congenital anomaly, the AR of recurrent congenital anomaly in the second pregnancy was 408 (95% CI 365-456) per 10,000; 2.5 (95% CI 2.3-2.8, p<0.0001) times higher than for those with unaffected first pregnancies. For similar anomalies, the recurrence risk was considerably elevated (RR=23.8, 95% CI 19.6-27.9, P<0.0001) while for dissimilar anomalies the increase was more modest (RR=1.4, 95% CI 1.2-1.6, P=0.001), although the ARs for both were 2%. CONCLUSIONS: Absolute recurrence risks varied between 1 in 20 and 1 in 30 for most major anomaly groups. At pre-conception and antenatal counselling, women whose first pregnancy was affected by a congenital anomaly and who are planning a further pregnancy may find it reassuring that despite high relative risks, the absolute recurrence risk is relatively low

Elevated serum procollagen type III peptide in splanchnic and peripheral circulation of patients with inflammatory bowel disease submitted to surgery

BACKGROUND: In the hypothesis that the increased collagen metabolism in the intestinal wall of patients affected by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is reflected in the systemic circulation, we aimed the study to evaluate serum level of procollagen III peptide (PIIIP) in peripheral and splanchnic circulation by a commercial radioimmunoassay of patients with different histories of disease. METHODS: Twenty-seven patients, 17 with Crohn and 10 with ulcerative colitis submitted to surgery were studied. Blood samples were obtained before surgery from a peripheral vein and during surgery from the mesenteric vein draining the affected intestinal segment. Fifteen healthy age and sex matched subjects were studied to determine normal range for peripheral PIIIP. RESULTS: In IBD patients peripheral PIIIP level was significantly higher if compared with controls (5.0 ± 1.9 vs 2.7 ± 0.7 μg/l; p = 0.0001); splanchnic PIIIP level was 5.5 ± 2.6 μg/l showing a positive gradient between splanchnic and peripheral concentrations of PIIIP. No significant differences between groups nor correlations with patients' age and duration of disease were found. CONCLUSIONS: We provide evidence that the increased local collagen metabolism in active IBD is reflected also in the systemic circulation irrespective of the history of the disease, suggesting that PIIIP should be considered more appropiately as a marker of the activity phases of IBD

Height and timing of growth spurt during puberty in young people living with vertically acquired HIV in Europe and Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe growth during puberty in young people with vertically acquired HIV. DESIGN: Pooled data from 12 paediatric HIV cohorts in Europe and Thailand. METHODS: One thousand and ninety-four children initiating a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor or boosted protease inhibitor based regimen aged 1-10 years were included. Super Imposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) models described growth from age 8 years using three parameters (average height, timing and shape of the growth spurt), dependent on age and height-for-age z-score (HAZ) (WHO references) at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Multivariate regression explored characteristics associated with these three parameters. RESULTS: At ART initiation, median age and HAZ was 6.4 [interquartile range (IQR): 2.8, 9.0] years and -1.2 (IQR: -2.3 to -0.2), respectively. Median follow-up was 9.1 (IQR: 6.9, 11.4) years. In girls, older age and lower HAZ at ART initiation were independently associated with a growth spurt which occurred 0.41 (95% confidence interval 0.20-0.62) years later in children starting ART age 6 to 10 years compared with 1 to 2 years and 1.50 (1.21-1.78) years later in those starting with HAZ less than -3 compared with HAZ at least -1. Later growth spurts in girls resulted in continued height growth into later adolescence. In boys starting ART with HAZ less than -1, growth spurts were later in children starting ART in the oldest age group, but for HAZ at least -1, there was no association with age. Girls and boys who initiated ART with HAZ at least -1 maintained a similar height to the WHO reference mean. CONCLUSION: Stunting at ART initiation was associated with later growth spurts in girls. Children with HAZ at least -1 at ART initiation grew in height at the level expected in HIV negative children of a comparable age

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration