Étude pilote de l’entretien motivationnel chez des personnes condamnées pour conduite avec facultés affaiblies

Dans cette étude pilote contrôlée et randomisée (N = 51), nous avons examiné l’impact d’une intervention brève, l’entretien motivationnel (EM, Motivational Interviewing), comparée à une simple séance d’information comme condition contrôle, chez des personnes condamnées pour conduite avec facultés affaiblies. Les participants devaient avoir un diagnostic actif d’abus ou de dépendance à l’alcool et devaient être recrutés en dehors des programmes officiels de traitement pour conducteurs avec facultés affaiblies de façon à tester l’EM chez des individus qui n’étaient pas nécessairement prêts à changer. Nous avons évalué le pourcentage de jours de forte consommation d’alcool (≥ 6 consommations standards d’alcool par jour), les résultats à l’AUDIT et l’utilisation de services après trois et six mois de suivi. Les résultats indiquent que l’exposition à l’EM a entraîné une réduction significativement plus grande du nombre de jours à forte consommation d’alcool et du nombre de visites à des professionnels de la santé après six mois de suivi. L’ampleur des effets observés est comparable à celle que l’on peut retrouver dans d’autres études employant l’EM avec différentes populations ayant un problème d’alcool. Quoique préliminaires, ces résultats suggèrent que l’emploi de l’EM pourrait être avantageux, même chez des individus qui ne sont pas engagés dans un processus de réhabilitation. Une étude plus approfondie du potentiel de l’EM conduisant directement à une amélioration de la conduite en état d’ébriété est clairement justifiée.A pilot randomized controlled trial (N = 51) investigated the impact of a brief intervention approach : Motivational Interviewing (MI), compared to a simple information session as a control condition, in offenders convicted of driving under the influence (DUI). Participants had a current diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence, and were recruited outside of mandated DUI remedial programs, in order to test MI in individuals who were not necessarily prepared to change. We evaluated the percentage of days of significant alcohol consumption (≥ 6 standard drinks a day), AUDIT scores and service utilization at three and six months follow-up. Results indicated that exposure to MI resulted in a significantly greater reduction in the number of days of significant alcohol consumption and fewer visits to health professionals at six months follow-up. Observed effect sizes were comparable to other studies of MI in different populations with alcohol problems. While preliminary, these results suggest that MI for DUI could have benefits, even in individuals who are not involved in a remedial process. A comprehensive study of MI’s potential in more directly improving drinking and driving outcomes is clearly warranted.En este estudio piloto controlado y aleatorio (N = 51), hemos examinado el impacto que produjo una breve intervención, la entrevista de motivación (EM, Motivational Interviewing), en personas condenadas por conducir con facultades debilitadas, comparándola a una simple sesión de información como condición de control. Los participantes debían tener un diagnóstico activo de abuso o de dependencia de alcohol y haber sido reclutados fuera de los programas oficiales de tratamiento para conductores con facultades debilitadas, con el objetivo de probar la entrevista de motivación en individuos que no estaban necesariamente preparados para cambiar. Hemos evaluado el porcentaje de días de fuerte consumo de alcohol (≥ 6 consumos regulares de alcohol por día), los resultados en la verificación y la utilización de los servicios luego de tres y seis meses de seguimiento. Los resultados indican que la exposición a la entrevista de motivación generó una reducción significativamente más importante de días de fuerte consumo de alcohol y de la cantidad de visitas a profesionales de la salud luego de seis meses de seguimiento. La amplitud de los efectos observados es comparable a la que se puede encontrar en otros estudios que emplean la entrevista de motivación con diferentes poblaciones que tienen un problema de alcohol. Si bien preliminares, estos resultados sugieren que el uso de las entrevistas de motivación podría ser ventajoso, incluso con individuos que no están comprometidos en un proceso de rehabilitación. Se justifica ampliamente un estudio más profundo de las posibilidades de la entrevista de motivación como medio para lograr directamente una mejoría en cuando a la conducción de vehículos en estado de ebriedad

Physical activity to improve cognition in older adults: can physical activity programs enriched with cognitive challenges enhance the effects? A systematic review and meta-analysis

: EPHPP quality rating scores (DOCX 38 kb

No Evidence That Gratitude Enhances Neural Performance Monitoring or Conflict-Driven Control

It has recently been suggested that gratitude can benefit self-regulation by reducing impulsivity during economic decision making. We tested if comparable benefits of gratitude are observed for neural performance monitoring and conflict-driven self-control. In a pre-post design, 61 participants were randomly assigned to either a gratitude or happiness condition, and then performed a pre-induction flanker task. Subsequently, participants recalled an autobiographical event where they had felt grateful or happy, followed by a post-induction flanker task. Despite closely following existing protocols, participants in the gratitude condition did not report elevated gratefulness compared to the happy group. In regard to self-control, we found no association between gratitude--operationalized by experimental condition or as a continuous predictor--and any control metric, including flanker interference, post-error adjustments, or neural monitoring (the error-related negativity, ERN). Thus, while gratitude might increase economic patience, such benefits may not generalize to conflict-driven control processes

Informal caregivers of persons with dementia, their use of and needs for specific professional support: a survey of the national dementia programme

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This paper describes both the use of and needs for informal caregivers of people with dementia, based on a questionnaire survey organized within the National Dementia Programme in the Netherlands. The National Dementia Programme is a quality collaborative of the Dutch Alzheimer's Association, the Institute of Quality of Healthcare (CBO) and the Knowledge Centre on Ageing (Vilans), instigated by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, to improve integrated care for people with dementia and their informal caregivers. The support needs of informal caregivers are important to improve caregiver well-being and delaying institutionalization of the person with dementia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the period April 2006 - January 2007, the National Dementia Programme questionnaire was completed by 984 informal caregivers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the use of and needs for additional professional support by informal caregivers. Chi-square tests were used to assess the relationships between characteristics of the caregivers (spouses, sons/daughters, sons/daughters in-law) and support needs on one hand and to assess the relationship between the living situation of the person with dementia (living at home or living in a nursing home or home for the elderly) and support needs on the other hand.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Almost all informal caregivers (92.6%) received some professional support. However, two thirds (67.4%) indicated they had one or more needs for additional professional support. Informal caregivers often need additional professional advice about what to do when their relative is frightened, angry of confused. Spouses reported different needs than sons or daughters (in-law): spouses relatively often need emotional support and sons or daughters (in-law) more often need information and coordination of dementia care.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Most of the informal caregivers report that they need additional information and advice, e.g. about how to cope with behavioral problems of their relative, about the progression of the illness trajectory, emotional support and coordination of dementia care. Future support programmes, e.g. in the field of case management, should address the specific needs of informal caregivers.</p

Une analyse critique des effets de l’autorisation judiciaire de soins sur la dynamique relationnelle entre la personne visée et ses systèmes de soutien

L’autorisation judiciaire de soins se situe au carrefour de considérations cliniques et juridiques. Malgré une efficacité contestée, des études récentes démontrent une augmentation du recours à cette mesure d’exception à l’échelle internationale. La présente analyse est inspirée d’une rencontre des théories foucaldienne et goffmanienne. Elle s’appuie sur les résultats d’une méta-ethnographie visant à mieux saisir les enjeux associés à ses usages, à partir des points de vue des acteurs impliqués lors de son application. Les résultats de cette analyse critique de discours décrivent l’autorisation judiciaire de soin en tant que jeu de rôle complexe ayant des effets multiples sur l’identité de la personne visée et sur ses rapports sociaux. À l’ère d’une justice souvent décrite par sa force thérapeutique, ces observations soulèvent plusieurs questionnements à l’égard de la visée et des effets de l’autorisation judiciaire de soins sur la personne, ainsi que de ses usages par différents intervenants du domaine de la santé et des services sociaux

From community approaches to single-cell genomics: the discovery of ubiquitous hyperhalophilic Bacteroidetes generalists

The microbiota of multi-pond solar salterns around the world has been analyzed using a variety of culture-dependent and molecular techniques. However, studies addressing the dynamic nature of these systems are very scarce. Here we have characterized the temporal variation during 1 year of the microbiota of five ponds with increasing salinity (from 18% to >40%), by means of CARD-FISH and DGGE. Microbial community structure was statistically correlated with several environmental parameters, including ionic composition and meteorological factors, indicating that the microbial community was dynamic as specific phylotypes appeared only at certain times of the year. In addition to total salinity, microbial composition was strongly influenced by temperature and specific ionic composition. Remarkably, DGGE analyses unveiled the presence of most phylotypes previously detected in hypersaline systems using metagenomics and other molecular techniques, such as the very abundant Haloquadratum and Salinibacter representatives or the recently described low GC Actinobacteria and Nanohaloarchaeota. In addition, an uncultured group of Bacteroidetes was present along the whole range of salinity. Database searches indicated a previously unrecognized widespread distribution of this phylotype. Single-cell genome analysis of five members of this group suggested a set of metabolic characteristics that could provide competitive advantages in hypersaline environments, such as polymer degradation capabilities, the presence of retinal-binding light-activated proton pumps and arsenate reduction potential. In addition, the fairly high metagenomic fragment recruitment obtained for these single cells in both the intermediate and hypersaline ponds further confirm the DGGE data and point to the generalist lifestyle of this new Bacteroidetes group.This work was supported by the projects CGL2012-39627-C03-01 and 02 of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, which were also co-financed with FEDER support from the European Union. TG group research is funded in part by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BIO2012-37161), a grant from the Qatar National Research Fund grant (NPRP 5-298-3-086) and a grant from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC (grant agreement no. ERC-2012-StG-310325)

The ARiBo tag: a reliable tool for affinity purification of RNAs under native conditions

Although RNA-based biological processes and therapeutics have gained increasing interest, purification of in vitro transcribed RNA generally relies on gel-based methods that are time-consuming, tedious and denature the RNA. Here, we present a reliable procedure for affinity batch purification of RNA, which exploits the high-affinity interaction between the boxB RNA and the N-peptide from bacteriophage λ. The RNA of interest is synthesized with an ARiBo tag, which consists of an activatable ribozyme (the glmS ribozyme) and the λBoxB RNA. This ARiBo-fusion RNA is initially captured on Glutathione-Sepharose resin via a GST/λN-fusion protein, and the RNA of interest is subsequently eluted by ribozyme self-cleavage using glucosamine-6-phosphate. Several GST/λN-fusion proteins and ARiBo tags were tested to optimize RNA yield and purity. The optimized procedure enables one to quickly obtain (3 h) highly pure RNA (>99%) under native conditions and with yields comparable to standard denaturing gel-based protocols. It is widely applicable to a variety of RNAs, including riboswitches, ribozymes and microRNAs. In addition, it can be easily adapted to a wide range of applications that require RNA purification and/or immobilization, including isolation of RNA-associated complexes from living cells and high-throughput applications

Climate‐driven thermal opportunities and risks for leaf miners in aspen canopies

In tree canopies, incoming solar radiation interacts with leaves and branches to generate temperature differences within and among leaves, presenting thermal opportunities and risks for leaf‐dwelling ectotherms. Although leaf biophysics and insect thermal ecology are well understood, few studies have examined them together in single systems. We examined temperature variability in aspen canopies, Populus tremuloides , and its consequences for a common herbivore, the leaf‐mining caterpillar Phyllocnistis populiella . We shaded leaves in the field and measured effects on leaf temperature and larval growth and survival. We also estimated larval thermal performance curves for feeding and growth and measured upper lethal temperatures. Sunlit leaves directly facing the incoming rays reached the highest temperatures, typically 3–8°C above ambient air temperature. Irradiance‐driven increases in temperature, however, were transient enough that they did not alter observed growth rates of leaf miners. Incubator and ramping experiments suggested that larval performance peaks between 25 and 32°C and declines to zero between 35 and 40°C, depending on the duration of temperature exposure. Upper lethal temperatures during 1‐h heat shocks were 42–43°C. When larvae were active in early spring, temperatures generally were low enough to depress rates of feeding and growth below their maxima, and only rarely did estimated mine temperatures rise beyond optimal temperatures. Observed leaf or mine temperatures never approached larval upper lethal temperatures. At this site during our experiments, larvae thus appeared to have a significant thermal safety margin; the more pressing problem was inadequate heat. Detailed information on mine temperatures and larval performance curves, however, allowed us to leverage long‐term data sets on air temperature to estimate potential future shifts in performance and longer‐term risks to larvae from lethally high temperatures. This analysis suggests that, in the past 20 years, larval performance has often been limited by cold and that the risk of heat stress has been low. Future warming will raise mean rates of feeding and growth but also the risk of exposure to injuriously or lethally high temperatures

Estimation of breeding value in pigs report of a working group

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