No Difference in Health Related Quality of Life Between Therapeutic Options for Type 1 Gaucher Disease

Type 1 Gaucher disease (GD) is the most common lysosomal storage disorder. Previously, treatment for GD was limited to intravenous enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). ERT reduces symptoms and increases health­related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with this condition. In 2014, oral substrate reduction therapy (SRT) was approved for type 1 GD treatment. Although both therapies alleviate disease symptoms, effects of SRT on HRQoL and preferences for therapy are not well established. Electronic surveys were administered to adults with type 1 GD. HRQoL was scored with the Short Form­36 Version 2 ® Health Survey and descriptive statistics were used to evaluate additional survey items. No differences in physical HRQoL (p = 0.756) or mental HRQoL (p = 0.650) were observed between SRT and ERT users. SRT users most often perceived their health to be similar to when they used ERT. Additionally, SRT users expressed convenience and non­invasiveness as reasons for choosing SRT, while many ERT users cited potential side effects and satisfaction with ERT as reasons for declining SRT. There appears to be no difference in HRQoL between ERT and SRT users and no perceived change in HRQoL for SRT users that previously used ERT. Participant responses illustrate that one particular treatment may not be ideal for all patients with type 1 GD depending on perceived convenience, invasiveness, or side effects. This evidence suggests that individuals with type 1 GD be adequately counseled about the risks and benefits of both therapy options now that SRT is clinically available

The effect of xenogeneic extracellular vesicles on pathophysiology and drug resistance of Leishmania infections in a murine model

La leishmaniose est une zoonose à transmission vectorielle due au parasite protozoaire Leishmania ; des co-infections avec plusieurs espèces de Leishmania ont également été rapportées. Il a été démontré que les vésicules extracellulaires (VE) de ce parasite jouent un rôle dans l'infection précoce, ainsi que la propagation de la résistance in vitro aux médicaments. Peu de médicaments anti-Leishmania sont disponibles, et la résistance continue de croître chez ce parasite; il est donc impératif de comprendre la propagation de la résistance aux antileishmaniens. Nous avons exploré la capacité des VE xénogéniques de Leishmania à moduler la physiopathologie de l'infection et la sensibilité du parasite aux médicaments après contact in vivo. La co-inoculation de parasites et de VE provenant de souches/espèces de Leishmania présentant divers profils de résistance aux médicaments a été réalisée chez la souris. La physiopathologie et la charge parasitaire ont été suivies, et des tests de sensibilité aux médicaments effectués. Les résultats ont démontré que les VE de Leishmania infantum influencent la physiopathologie de Leishmania major dans le cadre in vivo. Nous avons également constaté que ces VE modulent la sensibilité aux médicaments de L. major après un contact in vivo dans un modèle d'infection précoce, entraînant une diminution significative de la sensibilité à l’antileishmanien antimoine. Nous démontrons ici pour la première fois que les VE des parasites xénogéniques peuvent participer à la propagation de la résistance aux médicaments entre les populations de parasites après un contact in vivo, ce qui pourrait expliquer en partie l'augmentation des taux d'échec des traitements contre Leishmania.Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania, endemic to 98 countries and territories. There are several manifestations of leishmaniasis, some fatal if left untreated. Furthermore, co-infections with multiple species of Leishmania have also been reported. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) from Leishmania have been demonstrated to play a role in early infection, as well as spread of drug resistance in vitro. Few antileishmanial drugs are available, and drug resistance to those in use continues to grow; as such, there is an urgent need to better understand the spread of Leishmania drug resistance. In this study, the ability of xenogeneic Leishmania EVs to modulate infection pathophysiology and parasite drug sensitivity after in vivo contact was explored. Co-inoculation of parasites and purified EVs from strains/species of Leishmania with contrasting drug resistance profiles was performed in BALB/c mice. Pathophysiology and parasite burden were monitored, and drug-susceptibility testing performed on recovered parasites. Results demonstrated that EVs from Leishmania infantum influence pathophysiology of Leishmania major in in vivo experiments. These EVs were also found to modulate drug sensitivity of L. major after in vivo contact in a 6-hour infection model, leading to a highly significant decrease in susceptibility to antileishmanial antimony. Here it is demonstrated for the first time that EVs from xenogeneic parasites can participate directly in propagating drug resistance between parasite populations after in vivo contact. These findings may help explain current observations of rising rates of Leishmania treatment failure

The Changing Roles of Innovation Actors and Organizational Antecedents in the Digital Age

Despite being acknowledged for playing a pivotal role in facilitating innovations in the digital age, there is a lack of research on the multifaceted role of digital innovation actors. This paper provides a systematic, multi-disciplinary literature review on innovation actors in a digital and non-digital context. Based on a search of 149 high-quality journals and conference proceedings, we identified 110 articles as relevant and categorized as well as synthesized the knowledge on innovation actors’ role and organizational antecedents in a digital and non-digital context. We find an increasing focus on innovation actors’ role in user communities in a digital context. Moreover, literature on organizational antecedents puts a stronger emphasis on allocating resources to innovation actors outside the organization. By analyzing extant research we provide a comprehensive summary on current knowledge and outline opportunities for future research on digital innovation actors

Enabling Innovation Champions in Organizations - Results of a Systematic Literature Analysis

Based on a systematic literature analysis, this paper takes stock of the current landscape of research on innovation champions from an individual and organizational perspective: 149 journals and conference proceedings were examined on the topic of innovation champions. 85 articles were identified as relevant and systematically categorized according to two perspectives by synthesizing enablers of innovation champions on the individual (e.g. skills) and organizational level (e.g. knowledge management). While our analysis illuminates a high variety of enablers that influence innovation champions, the descriptive findings show a stronger focus of innovation champion studies on individual level enablers. Our literature review points out the lack of research on negative individual characteristics (e.g. narcissism), on the innovation champion in the IS context and on formalized groups of innovation champions (e.g. organizational units)

Pulse Shape Analysis for the GERDA Experiment to Set a New Limit on the Half-life of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay of Ge-76

The GERDA experiment searches for neutrinoless double beta (0nbb) decay of Ge-76 using high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors operated in liquid argon (LAr). The aim is to explore half-lives of the order of 10^26 yr. Therefore, GERDA relies on improved active background reduction techniques such as pulse shape discrimination (PSD) in which the time structure of the germanium signals is analyzed to discriminate signal- from background-like events. Two types of HPGe detectors are operated: semi-coaxial detectors previously used in the Heidelberg-Moscow and IGEX experiments and new Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors which feature an improved energy resolution and enhanced PSD. In Phase I of the experiment, five enriched BEGe detectors were used for the first time in the search for 0nbb decay. A PSD based on a single parameter, the ratio of the maximum current amplitude over the energy A/E is applied. 83% of the background events in a 232 keV region around Qbb are rejected with a high signal efficiency of (92.1 +/- 1.9) %. The achieved background index (BI) is (5.4 +4.1 -3.4) * 10^-3 counts/(keV*kg*yr). This is an improvement by a factor of 10 compared to previous germanium based 0nbb experiments. Phase II of the experiment includes a major upgrade: for further background rejection, the LAr cryostat is instrumented to detect argon scintillation light. Additional 25 BEGe detectors are installed. After PSD and LAr veto a BI of (0.7 +1.3 -0.5) * 10^-3 counts/(keV*kg*yr) is achieved. This is the best BI achieved in 0nbb experiments so far. A frequentist statistical analysis is performed on the combined data collected in GERDA Phase I and the first Phase II release. A new limit on the half-life of 0nbb decay of Ge-76 is set to T_1/2 > 5.3 * 10^25 yr at 90% C.L., with a median sensitivity of T_1/2 > 4.0 * 10^25 yr at 90%C.L

The Effect of Timing and Type of Exercise on the Quality of Sleep in Trained Individuals

International Journal of Exercise Science 13(7): 837-858, 2020. Sleep is an extremely important component for overall health and for a well-balanced training program. Recent studies have highlighted the interaction between sleep, recovery, and performance in elite and recreational athletes alike. Exercise has been known to affect the quality of sleep, nevertheless the impact is not well understood in the current research, particularly the effects of exercise timing and intensity on sleep quality. The purpose of this study was to understand if exercise timing and intensity significantly impact sleep quality among recreational exercisers. The participants involved were recreational exercisers who were self-grouped into an AM or PM exercise group. They participated in a seven-day quantitative, quasi-experimental, exploratory study wearing an Actigraph watch. The participant’s intensity was also self-grouped into moderate intensity or high intensity based on criteria cut points. Data was analyzed using a factorial ANOVA to examine if there was a significant difference between exercise timing and intensity on sleep quality of the participants. There were no significant differences in sleep quality in either the time group (AM vs PM) or the intensity group (MOD vs VIG) within the four measures of sleep that were looked at throughout this study; total sleep time, sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency % and wake after sleep onset (TST, SOL, SE, and WASO). Results within both, the AM and PM group and the MOD and VIG group, results showed no significant differences. These results conclude that neither exercise intensity or timing had an effect on sleep quality

INtegration of DEPression Treatment into HIV Care in Uganda (INDEPTH-Uganda): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Despite 10 to% of persons living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa having clinical depression, and the consequences of depression for key public health outcomes (HIV treatment adherence and condom use), depression treatment is rarely integrated into HIV care programs. Task-shifting, protocolized approaches to depression care have been used to overcome severe shortages of mental health specialists in developing countries, but not in sub-Saharan Africa and not with HIV clients. The aims of this trial are to evaluate the implementation outcomes and cost-effectiveness of a task-shifting, protocolized model of antidepressant care for HIV clinics in Uganda. METHODS/DESIGN: INDEPTH-Uganda is a cluster randomized controlled trial that compares two task-shifting models of depression care - a protocolized model versus a model that relies on the clinical acumen of trained providers to provide depression care in ten public health HIV clinics in Uganda. In addition to data abstracted from routine data collection mechanisms and supervision logs, survey data will be collected from patient and provider longitudinal cohorts; at each site, a random sample of 150 medically stable patients who are depressed according to the PHQ-2 screening will be followed for 12 months, and providers involved in depression care implementation will be followed over 24 months. These data will be used to assess whether the two models differ on implementation outcomes (proportion screened, diagnosed, treated; provider fidelity to model of care), provider adoption of treatment care knowledge and practices, and depression alleviation. A cost-effectiveness analysis will be conducted to compare the relative use of resources by each model. DISCUSSION: If effective and resource-efficient, the task-shifting, protocolized model will provide an approach to building the capacity for sustainable integration of depression treatment in HIV care settings across sub-Saharan Africa and improving key public health outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: INDEPTH-Uganda has been registered with the National Institutes of Health sponsored clinical trials registry (3 February 2013) and has been assigned the identifier NCT02056106

Coping Among Breast Cancer Survivors: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Brief COPE

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cancer survivors continue to cope with significant stressors after completing treatment. The Brief COPE (Carver, 1997) is frequently used to measure coping; however, its factor structure remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the best factor conceptualization of the Brief COPE for use among breast cancer survivors. METHODS: Breast cancer survivors (N = 1,127) completed the Brief COPE. We conducted confirmatory factor analyses comparing several a priori models based on research in cancer-relevant populations. RESULTS: Of the eight models examined, the 14-factor model of the Brief COPE showed the best fit. CONCLUSIONS: Despite efforts to simplify the structure of the Brief COPE, our results suggest coping among breast cancer survivors is best assessed using Carver's (1997) original 14-factor conceptualization

Intermountain West Florist Market Overview and Outlook

This fact sheet, the first in a two-part series from a January 2024 study, focuses on florist and market trends in the Intermountain West. The study provides local cut flower growers with pertinent information on the florist market such as current sourcing and flower expenditures, primary markets and annual sales, as well as current supplier challenges. Market trends regarding sales, flower variety, and color predictions are also discussed. This information will help growers identify current gaps in the florist market and explore ways to meet florist needs