98 research outputs found
Das Schulungsprogramm famoses fĂŒr Familien von Kindern mit Epilepsie. Eine quasi-experimentelle Evaluation des Elternkurses
Hagemann A. Das Schulungsprogramm famoses fĂŒr Familien von Kindern mit Epilepsie. Eine quasi-experimentelle Evaluation des Elternkurses. Bielefeld: UniversitĂ€t Bielefeld; 2017.Die Erkrankung eines Kindes an Epilepsie stellt nicht nur fĂŒr das Kind selbst, sondern auch fĂŒr seine Familie eine Belastung dar. Im Rahmen einer umfassenden Behandlung anfallskranker Kinder und ihrer Familien spielen daher Schulungsprogramme eine wichtige Rolle, da sie Wissen vermitteln und den psychosozialen UnterstĂŒtzungsbedarf von Eltern anfallskranker Kinder berĂŒcksichtigen. famoses, das âModulare Schulungsprogramm Epilepsie fĂŒr Familienâ ist ein solches Programm. Es besteht aus zwei interaktiv gestalteten Kursen, fĂŒr Kinder mit Epilepsie und deren Eltern, die die Teilnehmer beim Umgang mit der Epilepsie im Alltag und bei der KrankheitsbewĂ€ltigung unterstĂŒtzen sollen.
Das primĂ€re Ziel dieser Dissertationsschrift war die Untersuchung der Wirksamkeit des famoses-Elternkurses. Daneben wurden zwei weitere Fragestellungen behandelt: Zum einen wurden die fĂŒr diese Studie auf Basis der Daten einer Pilotstudie neu zusammengestellten Skalen hinsichtlich ihrer psychometrischen GĂŒte geprĂŒft. Zum anderen wurde geprĂŒft, inwiefern die mögliche Verzerrung in den Ergebnissen aufgrund des quasi-experimentellen Studiendesigns durch den Vergleich von AuswertungsansĂ€tzen, die verschiedene Kovariaten auf unterschiedliche Weise berĂŒcksichtigen, abgeschĂ€tzt werden kann.
An einer kontrollierten, prospektiven, multizentrischen Studie im PrĂ€-Post-Design nahmen Eltern von Kindern mit Epilepsie aus Deutschland und Ăsterreich teil. Die Schulungsgruppe (n = 148) fĂŒllte direkt vor Teilnahme am famoses-Elternkurs und sechs Monate danach einen Fragebogen aus. Die gematchte Kontrollgruppe (n = 74, Matching-VerhĂ€ltnis 2:1) bearbeitete den Fragebogen ebenfalls zweimal im Abstand von sechs Monaten, nahm jedoch nicht an famoses teil. Der Fragebogen erfasste neben demografischen und krankheitsspezifischen Variablen (z.B. AnfallshĂ€ufigkeit) insbesondere epilepsiespezifische Zielparameter, wie beispielsweise das Wissen der Eltern ĂŒber Epilepsie, ihre KrankheitsbewĂ€ltigung und epilepsiebezogene Ăngste. In der Schulungsgruppe wurde auĂerdem die Zufriedenheit mit dem Schulungsprogramm sechs Monate nach Teilnahme am famoses-Kurs erhoben.
FĂŒr die Instrumente zur Erfassung der Zielparameter ergaben sich gröĂtenteils gute, mindestens aber ausreichende interne Konsistenzen und Retest-ReliabilitĂ€ten. Die EindimensionalitĂ€t konnte in konfirmatorischen Faktorenanalysen zwar nicht fĂŒr alle Skalen bestĂ€tigt werden, inhaltlich hergeleitete mehrfaktorielle Modelle zeigten jedoch hohe Korrelationen zwischen den Subfaktoren. Eine korrelative PrĂŒfung der KonstruktvaliditĂ€ten ergab signifikante ZusammenhĂ€nge zwischen verschiedenen psychosozialen Zielparametern, die ihrerseits vom epilepsiespezifischen Wissen weitgehend unabhĂ€ngig waren. Es ist somit gelungen, fĂŒr die Evaluation des famoses-Elternkurses Messinstrumente von guter QualitĂ€t zusammenzustellen, von denen einige in der hier eingesetzten Form fĂŒr die Nutzung in weiteren Studien, beispielsweise zu Schulungs- oder Beratungsangeboten, empfohlen werden können.
Der Vergleich von AuswertungsansĂ€tzen fĂŒr vier exemplarisch ausgewĂ€hlte Zielparameter zeigte zum Teil deutliche Unterschiede zwischen den EffektstĂ€rken der Analyse unabhĂ€ngiger Gruppen ohne Kovariaten und der Analyse gematchter Gruppen mit BerĂŒcksichtigung von Kovariaten. Insbesondere die Nutzung der PrĂ€test-Werte, sowie teilweise auch das Matching auf Basis demografischer und krankheitsspezifischer Variablen, konnten jedoch die VariabilitĂ€t der EffektstĂ€rken verringern, was insgesamt auf einen geringen Bias in den Ergebnissen zur Wirksamkeit des famoses-Elternkurses hinweist. Trotzdem wurde fĂŒr die Beantwortung der primĂ€ren Fragestellung mit der Analyse gematchter Gruppen mittels Verallgemeinerter SchĂ€tzgleichungen die Auswertungsstrategie genutzt, die durch die BerĂŒcksichtigung verschiedener Kovariaten die interne ValiditĂ€t der Ergebnisse möglichst gut absichert.
Die Analysen zur Wirksamkeit des famoses-Elternkurses zeigten, dass sich die Eltern der Schulungsgruppe im Vergleich zur Kontrollgruppe signifikant im epilepsiespezifischen Wissen (Interaktion Gruppe x Zeit: p
Zusammenfassend konnte die Wirksamkeit des Elternkurses des Schulungsprogramms famoses bestĂ€tigt werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Vermittlung von Wissen und die interaktive Kursgestaltung den Eltern helfen, die Epilepsie ihres Kindes besser zu bewĂ€ltigen und epilepsiebezogene Ăngste zu reduzieren
The efficacy of an educational program for parents of children with epilepsy (FAMOSES): Results of a controlled multicenter evaluation study
Hagemann A, PfÀfflin M, Nussbeck FW, May T. The efficacy of an educational program for parents of children with epilepsy (FAMOSES): Results of a controlled multicenter evaluation study. Epilepsy & Behavior. 2016;64(Part A):143-151
Added value of including waves into a coupled atmosphereâocean model system within the North Sea area
In this study, the effects of fully coupling the atmosphere, waves, and ocean compared with two-way-coupled simulations of either atmosphere and waves or atmosphere and ocean are analyzed. Two-year-long simulations (2017 and 2018) are conducted using the atmosphereâoceanâwave (AOW) coupled system consisting of the atmosphere model CCLM, the wave model WAM, and the ocean model NEMO. Furthermore, simulations with either CCLM and WAM or CCLM and NEMO are done in order to estimate the impacts of including waves or the ocean into the system. For the North Sea area, it is assessed whether the influence of the coupling of waves and ocean on the atmosphere varies throughout the year and whether the waves or the ocean have the dominant effect on the atmospheric model. It is found that the effects of adding the waves into the system already consisting of atmosphere and ocean model or adding the ocean to the system of atmosphere and wave model vary throughout the year. Which component has a dominant effect and whether the effects enhance or diminish each other depends on the season and variable considered. For the wind speed, during the storm season, adding the waves has the dominant effect on the atmosphere, whereas during summer, adding the ocean has a larger impact. In summer, the waves and the ocean have similar influences on mean sea level pressure (MSLP). However, during the winter months, they have the opposite effect. For the air temperature at 2Â m height (T_2m), adding the ocean impacts the atmosphere all year around, whereas adding the waves mainly influences the atmosphere during summer. This influence, however, is not a straight feedback by the waves to the atmosphere, but the waves affect the ocean surface temperature, which then also feedbacks to the atmosphere. Therefore, in this study we identified a season where the atmosphere is affected by the interaction between the waves and the ocean. Hence, in the AOW-coupled simulation with all three components involved, processes can be represented that uncoupled models or model systems consisting of only two models cannot depict
A CCR4 antagonist reverses the tumor-promoting microenvironment of renal cancer
CRUK programme grant C587/A16354 and a research grant from Affitech AS.The study was supported by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) programme grant C587/A16354 and a research grant from Affitech AS
Elongation factor Tu is a multifunctional and processed moonlighting protein
Many bacterial moonlighting proteins were originally described in medically, agriculturally, and commercially important members of the low Gâ+âC Firmicutes. We show Elongation factor Tu (Ef-Tu) moonlights on the surface of the human pathogens Staphylococcus aureus (SaEf-Tu) and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MpnEf-Tu), and the porcine pathogen Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (MhpEf-Tu). Ef-Tu is also a target of multiple processing events on the cell surface and these were characterised using an N-terminomics pipeline. Recombinant MpnEf-Tu bound strongly to a diverse range of host molecules, and when bound to plasminogen, was able to convert plasminogen to plasmin in the presence of plasminogen activators. Fragments of Ef-Tu retain binding capabilities to host proteins. Bioinformatics and structural modelling studies indicate that the accumulation of positively charged amino acids in short linear motifs (SLiMs), and protein processing promote multifunctional behaviour. Codon bias engendered by an Aâ+âT rich genome may influence how positively-charged residues accumulate in SLiMs
Use of statins and risk of myeloproliferative neoplasms - a Danish nationwide case-control study
Intratumoral macrophages contribute to epithelial-mesenchymal transition in solid tumors
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several stromal cell subtypes including macrophages contribute to tumor progression by inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) at the invasive front, a mechanism also linked to metastasis. Tumor associated macrophages (TAM) reside mainly at the invasive front but they also infiltrate tumors and in this process they mainly assume a tumor promoting phenotype. In this study, we asked if TAMs also regulate EMT intratumorally. We found that TAMs through TGF-ÎČ signaling and activation of the ÎČ-catenin pathway can induce EMT in intratumoral cancer cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We depleted macrophages in F9-teratocarcinoma bearing mice using clodronate-liposomes and analyzed the tumors for correlations between gene and protein expression of EMT-associated and macrophage markers. The functional relationship between TAMs and EMT was characterized <it>in vitro </it>in the murine F9 and mammary gland NMuMG cells, using a conditioned medium culture approach. The clinical relevance of our findings was evaluated on a tissue microarray cohort representing 491 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Gene expression analysis of F9-teratocarcinomas revealed a positive correlation between TAM-densities and mesenchymal marker expression. Moreover, immunohistochemistry showed that TAMs cluster with EMT phenotype cells in the tumors. <it>In vitro</it>, long term exposure of F9-and NMuMG-cells to macrophage-conditioned medium led to decreased expression of the epithelial adhesion protein E-cadherin, activation of the EMT-mediating ÎČ-catenin pathway, increased expression of mesenchymal markers and an invasive phenotype. In a candidate based screen, macrophage-derived TGF-ÎČ was identified as the main inducer of this EMT-associated phenotype. Lastly, immunohistochemical analysis of NSCLC patient samples identified a positive correlation between intratumoral macrophage densities, EMT markers, intraepithelial TGF-ÎČ levels and tumor grade.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Data presented here identify a novel role for macrophages in EMT-promoted tumor progression. The observation that TAMs cluster with intra-epithelial fibroblastoid cells suggests that the role of macrophages in tumor-EMT extends beyond the invasive front. As macrophage infiltration and pronounced EMT tumor phenotype correlate with increased grade in NSCLC patients, we propose that TAMs also promote tumor progression by inducing EMT locally in tumors.</p
Quantum cascade laser frequency stabilisation at the sub-Hz level
Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCL) are increasingly being used to probe the
mid-infrared "molecular fingerprint" region. This prompted efforts towards
improving their spectral performance, in order to reach ever-higher resolution
and precision. Here, we report the stabilisation of a QCL onto an optical
frequency comb. We demonstrate a relative stability and accuracy of 2x10-15 and
10-14, respectively. The comb is stabilised to a remote near-infrared
ultra-stable laser referenced to frequency primary standards, whose signal is
transferred via an optical fibre link. The stability and frequency traceability
of our QCL exceed those demonstrated so far by two orders of magnitude. As a
demonstration of its capability, we then use it to perform high-resolution
molecular spectroscopy. We measure absorption frequencies with an 8x10-13
relative uncertainty. This confirms the potential of this setup for ultra-high
precision measurements with molecules, such as our ongoing effort towards
testing the parity symmetry by probing chiral species
BTN3A2 Expression in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Is Associated with Higher Tumor Infiltrating T Cells and a Better Prognosis
BTN3A2/BT3.2 butyrophilin mRNA expression by tumoral cells was previously identified as a prognostic factor in a small cohort of high grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer (HG-EOC). Here, we evaluated the prognostic value of BT3.2 at the protein level in specimen from 199 HG-EOC patients. As the only known role of butyrophilin proteins is in immune regulation, we evaluated the association between BT3.2 expression and intratumoral infiltration of immune cells by immunohistochemistry with specific antibodies against BT3.2, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD68 and CD206. Epithelial BT3.2 expression was significantly associated with longer overall survival and lower risk of disease progression (HRâ=â0.651, pâ=â0.006 and HRâ=â0.642, pâ=â0.002, respectively) and significantly associated with a higher density of infiltrating T cells, particularly CD4+ cells (0.272, p<0.001). We also observed a strong association between the relative density of CD206+ cells, as evaluated by the ratio of intratumoral CD206+/CD68+ expression, and risk of disease progression (HRâ=â1.355 pâ=â0.044, respectively). In conclusion, BT3.2 protein is a potential prognostic biomarker for the identification of HG-EOC patients with better outcome. In contrast, high CD206+/CD68+ expression is associated with high risk of disease progression. While the role of BT3.2 is still unknown, our result suggest that BT3.2 expression by epithelial cells may modulates the intratumoral infiltration of immune cells
Liposome encapsulated zoledronate favours M1-like behaviour in murine macrophages cultured with soluble factors from breast cancer cells
- âŠ