Chemical preservation of tail feathers from Anchiornis huxleyi, a theropod dinosaur from the Tiaojishan Formation (Upper Jurassic, China)

A panel of geochemical techniques is used here to investigate the taphonomy of fossil feathers preserved in association with the skeleton of the Jurassic theropod Anchiornis huxleyi. Extant feathers were analysed in parallel to test whether the soft tissues morphologically preserved in the fossil also exhibit a high degree of chemical preservation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) indicate that clays and iron oxide pseudomorphs occur in the surrounding sediment and also reveal the preservation of melanosome‐like microbodies in the fossil. Carbon gradient along a depth profile and co‐occurrence of carbon and sulphur are shown in the fossil by elastic backscattering (EBS) and particle‐induced x‐ray emission (PIXE), which are promising techniques for the elemental analysis of fossil soft tissues. The molecular composition of modern and fossil soft tissues was assessed from micro‐attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (micro‐ATR FTIR), solid‐state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (CP‐MAS 13C NMR) and pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry in the presence of TMAH (TMAH‐Py‐GC‐MS). Results indicate that the proteinaceous material that comprises the modern feathers is not present in the fossil feathers. The fossil feathers and the embedding sediment exhibit a highly aliphatic character. However, substantial differences exist between these samples, revealing that the organic matter of the fossil feathers is, at least partially, derived from original constituents of the feathers. Our results suggest that, despite the morphological preservation of Anchiornis feathers, original proteins, that is keratin, were probably not preserved in the 160‐myr‐old feathers

Attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine in chronic pain syndromes: a questionnaire-based comparison between primary headache and low back pain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is widely used and popular among patients with primary headache or low back pain (LBP). Aim of the study was to analyze attitudes of headache and LBP patients towards the use of CAM.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two questionnaire-based surveys were applied comparing 432 primary headache and 194 LBP patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In total, 84.75% of all patients reported use of CAM; with significantly more LBP patients. The most frequently-used CAM therapies in headache were acupuncture (71.4%), massages (56.4%), and thermotherapy (29.2%), in LBP thermotherapy (77.4%), massages (62.7%), and acupuncture (51.4%). The most frequent attitudes towards CAM use in headache vs. LBP: "leave nothing undone" (62.5% vs. 52.1%; p = 0.006), "take action against the disease" (56.8% vs. 43.2%; p = 0.006). Nearly all patients with previous experience with CAM currently use CAM in both conditions (93.6% in headache; 100% in LBP). However, the majority of the patients had no previous experience.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Understanding motivations for CAM treatment is important, because attitudes derive from wishes for non-pharmacological treatment, to be more involved in treatment and avoid side effects. Despite higher age and more permanent pain in LBP, both groups show high use of CAM with only little specific difference in preferred methods and attitudes towards CAM use. This may reflect deficits and unfulfilled goals in conventional treatment. Maybe CAM can decrease the gap between patients' expectations about pain therapy and treatment reality, considering that both conditions are often chronic diseases, causing high burdens for daily life.</p

The cross-sectional GRAS sample: A comprehensive phenotypical data collection of schizophrenic patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Schizophrenia is the collective term for an exclusively clinically diagnosed, heterogeneous group of mental disorders with still obscure biological roots. Based on the assumption that valuable information about relevant genetic and environmental disease mechanisms can be obtained by association studies on patient cohorts of ≥ 1000 patients, if performed on detailed clinical datasets and quantifiable biological readouts, we generated a new schizophrenia data base, the GRAS (Göttingen Research Association for Schizophrenia) data collection. GRAS is the necessary ground to study genetic causes of the schizophrenic phenotype in a 'phenotype-based genetic association study' (PGAS). This approach is different from and complementary to the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on schizophrenia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>For this purpose, 1085 patients were recruited between 2005 and 2010 by an invariable team of traveling investigators in a cross-sectional field study that comprised 23 German psychiatric hospitals. Additionally, chart records and discharge letters of all patients were collected.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The corresponding dataset extracted and presented in form of an overview here, comprises biographic information, disease history, medication including side effects, and results of comprehensive cross-sectional psychopathological, neuropsychological, and neurological examinations. With >3000 data points per schizophrenic subject, this data base of living patients, who are also accessible for follow-up studies, provides a wide-ranging and standardized phenotype characterization of as yet unprecedented detail.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The GRAS data base will serve as prerequisite for PGAS, a novel approach to better understanding 'the schizophrenias' through exploring the contribution of genetic variation to the schizophrenic phenotypes.</p

Health kiosks - a technology for citizen-oriented health IT: Are they used and if not, why not?

Health kiosks are basically a low-threshold opportunity for communication between citizens and other actors in the healthcare system as well as for information on health-related issues. The aim of the study was to record the use of health kiosks in pharmacies by means of a quantitative long-term survey and to determine the reasons for (non-)use by means of a qualitative in-depth analysis. Overall, usage parameters were recorded over 25 months in log files of up to 145 pharmacies. In addition, 92 customers of four high-usage pharmacies were interviewed in qualitative short interviews regarding the reasons for use or non-use. The results of the long-term study showed that the health kiosks were used 1-2 times a day at best, but more likely only 1-2 times a week. The reasons for non-use were due to the interaction of different factors, including accessibility and usefulness, but also the social environment. It can be concluded that identifying the reasons for (non-)use is an important step towards allowing the potential of health kiosks to unfold if they are to be used in a targeted manner within the framework of the digitalisation strategy of the Federal Ministry of Health.Gesundheitskioske stellen grundsätzlich eine niedrigschwellige Möglichkeit für die Kommunikation zwischen Bürgern und weiteren Akteuren im Gesundheitswesen sowie für die Information zu gesundheitsrelevanten Fragestellungen dar. Ziel der Studie war es, über eine quantitative Langzeiterhebung die Nutzung von Gesundheitskiosken in Apotheken zu erfassen und über eine qualitative Tiefenanalyse die Gründe für die (Nicht)-Nutzung zu ermitteln. Insgesamt wurden Nutzungsparameter über 25 Monate in Logdateien von bis zu 145 Apotheken festgehalten. Darüber hinaus wurden 92 Kunden von vier nutzungsstarken Apotheken in qualitativen Kurzinterviews hinsichtlich der Gründe der Nutzung bzw. Nichtnutzung befragt. Die Ergebnisse der Langzeitstudie zeigen, dass die Gesundheitskioske im besten Falle 1-2 mal pro Tag, eher aber nur 1-2 mal pro Woche genutzt wurden. Die Gründe für die Nicht-Nutzung wurden durch das Zusammenspiel unterschiedlicher Faktoren bedingt, hierzu zählten u.a. die Zugänglichkeit und die Nützlichkeit, aber auch das soziale Umfeld. Zusammenfassend lässt sich feststellen, dass die Identifizierung der Gründe für die (Nicht-)Nutzung ein wichtiger Schritt ist, damit sich das Potential von Gesundheitskiosks entfalten kann, wenn sie im Rahmen der Digitalisierungsstrategie des Bundesministeriums für Gesundheit zum gezielten Einsatz kommen sollen