The needs of professionals in the palliative care of children and adolescents

The main objectives of this qualitative study were to describe the perceptions and needs of pediatric health care professionals (HCPs) taking care of children with palliative care needs and to develop a concept for the first Center of Competence for Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC) in Switzerland. Within two parts of the study, 76 HCPs were interviewed. The main interview topics were: (1) definition of and attitude toward PPC; (2) current provision of PPC; (3) the support needs of HCPs in the provision of PPC; and (4) the role of specialized PPC teams. HCPs expressed openness to PPC and reported distinctive needs for support in the care of these patients. The main tasks of specialized PPC teams in Switzerland would encompass the coaching of attending teams, coordination of care, symptom control, and direct support of affected families during and beyond the illness of their child. Conclusion: This study indicates the need for specialized PPC in Switzerland both inside and outside of centers providing top quality medical care (Spitzenmedizin). Specialized PPC teams could have a significant impact on the care of children and families with PPC needs. Whether hospices are an option in Switzerland remains unanswered; however, a place to meet other families with similar destinies was emphasize

Frequent epigenetic inactivation of RASSF2 in thyroid cancer and functional consequences

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Ras association domain family (RASSF) encodes for distinct tumor suppressors and several members are frequently silenced in human cancer. In our study, we analyzed the role of RASSF2, RASSF3, RASSF4, RASSF5A, RASSF5C and RASSF6 and the effectors MST1, MST2 and WW45 in thyroid carcinogenesis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Frequent methylation of the <it>RASSF2 </it>and <it>RASSF5A </it>CpG island promoters in thyroid tumors was observed. <it>RASSF2 </it>was methylated in 88% of thyroid cancer cell lines and in 63% of primary thyroid carcinomas. <it>RASSF2 </it>methylation was significantly increased in primary thyroid carcinoma compared to normal thyroid, goiter and follicular adenoma (0%, 17% and 0%, respectively; p < 0.05). Patients which were older than 60 years were significantly hypermethylated for <it>RASSF2 </it>in their primary thyroid tumors compared to those younger than 40 years (90% vs. 38%; p < 0.05). <it>RASSF2 </it>promoter hypermethylation correlated with its reduced expression and treatment with a DNA methylation inhibitor reactivated <it>RASSF2 </it>transcription. Over-expression of RASSF2 reduced colony formation of thyroid cancer cells. Functionally our data show that RASSF2 interacts with the proapoptotic kinases MST1 and MST2 and induces apoptosis in thyroid cancer cell lines. Deletion of the MST interaction domain of RASSF2 reduced apoptosis significantly (p < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest that <it>RASSF2 </it>encodes a novel epigenetically inactivated candidate tumor suppressor gene in thyroid carcinogenesis.</p

Correction to:Hidden Present, Visible Absent in the City of Dreams: Assembling the Collective Imagination (Human Arenas, (2018), 1, 2, (151-165), 10.1007/s42087-018-0020-z)

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MOESM3 of Effect of skilled reaching training and enriched environment on generation of oligodendrocytes in the adult sensorimotor cortex and corpus callosum

Additional file 3: Figure S2. Characterisation of NG2+ and DCX+ cells by flow cytometry analysis, immunohistochemical analysis and qPCR. (A) The percentage of NG2+DCX+ cells was about 61% in the adult rat cortex after flow cytometry analysis. (B) Compared to flow cytometry analysis, about 79% of NG2+ cells were co-labelled against DCX. (C) DCX expression pattern flow cytometry-sorted NG2 cells identified by qPCR. MW, molecular weight; Ctrl, control for rat DCX Primer. Error bars represent S.D