Representations and concepts of professional ethos among Swiss religious education teacher trainers

Over the past two decades, the organisation of religious education classes in Switzerland has undergone profound reforms. Amid the increasing secularisation and pluralisation of the religious landscape, many cantons have introduced a compulsory course that falls under the responsibility of the state and is aimed at teaching basic knowledge about a variety of religions. These reforms have enabled a harmonisation of the syllabi for religious education across the country and have prompted the adaptation of teacher training programmes. Because of the many diverse social expectations surrounding these new courses and the diverse academic tra- ditions in the field of religious education, however, a unified conception of these courses is still absent. In this article, we discuss the ongoing construction of religious education teachers’ professional ethos within this fluid context. In particular, we discuss the perspective of teacher trainers on pragmatic questions concerning religious plurality and the place of teachers’ and pupils’ personal (religious) experiences in the classroom, and pay attention to different representations of ‘religion’ and distinct ideas regarding the purpose of these courses as they have a major impact on the professional attitudes expected from teachers. Keywords: professional ethos; teacher trainers; Switzerland; concepts of religion; impartialit

FOXC2 and fluid shear stress stabilize postnatal lymphatic vasculature.

Biomechanical forces, such as fluid shear stress, govern multiple aspects of endothelial cell biology. In blood vessels, disturbed flow is associated with vascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, and promotes endothelial cell proliferation and apoptosis. Here, we identified an important role for disturbed flow in lymphatic vessels, in which it cooperates with the transcription factor FOXC2 to ensure lifelong stability of the lymphatic vasculature. In cultured lymphatic endothelial cells, FOXC2 inactivation conferred abnormal shear stress sensing, promoting junction disassembly and entry into the cell cycle. Loss of FOXC2-dependent quiescence was mediated by the Hippo pathway transcriptional coactivator TAZ and, ultimately, led to cell death. In murine models, inducible deletion of Foxc2 within the lymphatic vasculature led to cell-cell junction defects, regression of valves, and focal vascular lumen collapse, which triggered generalized lymphatic vascular dysfunction and lethality. Together, our work describes a fundamental mechanism by which FOXC2 and oscillatory shear stress maintain lymphatic endothelial cell quiescence through intercellular junction and cytoskeleton stabilization and provides an essential link between biomechanical forces and endothelial cell identity that is necessary for postnatal vessel homeostasis. As FOXC2 is mutated in lymphedema-distichiasis syndrome, our data also underscore the role of impaired mechanotransduction in the pathology of this hereditary human disease

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics' resources: focus on curated databases

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (www.isb-sib.ch) provides world-class bioinformatics databases, software tools, services and training to the international life science community in academia and industry. These solutions allow life scientists to turn the exponentially growing amount of data into knowledge. Here, we provide an overview of SIB's resources and competence areas, with a strong focus on curated databases and SIB's most popular and widely used resources. In particular, SIB's Bioinformatics resource portal ExPASy features over 150 resources, including UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, ENZYME, PROSITE, neXtProt, STRING, UniCarbKB, SugarBindDB, SwissRegulon, EPD, arrayMap, Bgee, SWISS-MODEL Repository, OMA, OrthoDB and other databases, which are briefly described in this article

Linking the menopause rating scale to the International classification of functioning, disability and health - A first step towards the implementation of the EMAS menopause health care model.

OBJECTIVES To link the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS-II) to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and present a clinical application of an ICF-based tool. STUDY DESIGN The MRS-II was linked to the corresponding ICF category. The linked items were used to generate an ICF Categorical Profile. To broadly examine its feasibility in clinical practice, qualitative interviews with three patients were performed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Corresponding items of the MRS-II in the ICF. Perception of the ICF Categorical Profile from patients' perspective. RESULTS A total of 44 concepts from the MRS-II were identified that could be linked to 24 different ICF categories, which all belonged to the component Body Functions. From patients' perspective, filling in the ICF Categorical Profile helped to structure their goals but did not improve the overview of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS The ICF Categorical Profile could be a valuable tool in menopause healthcare; however, it is necessary to adapt the ICF for this specific use. An ICF Core Set needs to be developed in order to accomplish the goal of the European Menopause and Andropause Society and implement its Healthy Menopause Health Care Model in daily practice

Chronic non-communicable disease risk calculators - An overview, part I.

This review identifies the different risk assessment tools that stratify the individual's risk of four of the eight leading causes of death in women: breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer and osteoporosis. It will be followed by the publication of a second paper that summarizes the risk assessment tools for the other four leading causes of death (myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes mellitus type 2 and dementia). The different tools were compared by their use of different variables and validation criteria. To corroborate the validation process, validation study papers were considered for each risk assessment tool. Four tables, one for each illness, were designed. The tables provide an outline for each risk assessment tool, which includes its inventor/company, required variables, advantages, disadvantages and validity. These tables simplify the comparison of the different tools and enable the identification of the most suitable one for each patient

Chronic Non-Communicable Disease Risk Calculators - An Overview, Part II.

The aim of this review was to identify the different risk assessment tools that stratify the individual's risk of four of the eight leading causes of death: stroke, ischaemic heart diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and dementia. It follows part I, which summarized the risk assessment tools for the other four leading causes of death (breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer and osteoporosis). As in part I, the different tools were compared by their variables and validation criteria and an overview table was designed for each illness. The tables facilitate the choice of the adequate risk assessment tool for the individual patient in order to estimate the risk of developing an NCD. This could guide treating physicians in the decision-making process about completing diagnostics for early detection and, if necessary, treatment, such that the patient's quality of life can be preserved and costs to the health care system are minimal

Towards ICF implementation in menopause healthcare: a systematic review of ICF application in Switzerland.

AIMS OF THE STUDY To present a systematic literature review on the application and degree of implementation of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) across different health conditions and regions in Switzerland in order to develop an ICF classification of the climacteric syndrome in the medium term. METHODS A systematic literature search was conducted through Embase and Medline covering the period between 2011 and August 2016. Inclusion criteria were the term ICF in title or abstract and Switzerland as the workplace of the first author. Identified publications were analysed as descriptive statistics. RESULTS A total of 83 articles were included in the analysis. Forty-seven different first authors from 24 different institutions were identified. The majority of publications were from Swiss Paraplegic Research (68.7%) and focused on neurology (31.3%). Forty-six cohort studies were identified. In most of them, the ICF was used to set up a general language for comparing patients' information (82.9%). Only one paper from the medical specialty gynaecology was identified; this was on breast cancer. No paper on the menopause was found. CONCLUSION In Switzerland, the ICF is actively used in various areas of healthcare, especially in the field of neurology and rehabilitation. There is a need for ICF core sets in other medical fields, such as menopause healthcare, in order to accomplish the goal of the European Menopause and Andropause Society, which is a healthcare model for healthy menopause and aging

Mono- and Hexanuclear Zinc Halide Complexes with Soft Thiopyridazine Based Scorpionate Ligands

Scorpionate ligands with three soft sulfur donor sites have become very important in coordination chemistry. Despite its ability to form highly electrophilic species, electron-deficient thiopyridazines have rarely been used, whereas the chemistry of electron-rich thioheterocycles has been explored rather intensively. Here, the unusual chemical behavior of a thiopyridazine (6-tert-butylpyridazine-3-thione, HtBuPn) based scorpionate ligand towards zinc is reported. Thus, the reaction of zinc halides with tris(6-tert-butyl-3-thiopyridazinyl)borate Na[TntBu] leads to the formation of discrete torus-shaped hexameric zinc complexes [TntBuZnX]6 (X = Br, I) with uncommonly long zinc halide bonds. In contrast, reaction of the sterically more demanding ligand K[TnMe,tBu] leads to decomposition, forming Zn(HPnMe,tBu)2X2 (X = Br, I). The latter can be prepared independently by reaction of the respective zinc halides and two equiv of HPnMe,tBu. The bromide compound was used as precursor which further reacts with K[TnMe,tBu] forming the mononuclear complex [TnMe,tBu]ZnBr(HPnMe,tBu). The molecular structures of all compounds were elucidated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Characterization in solution was performed by means of 1H, 13C and DOSY NMR spectroscopy which revealed the hexameric constitution of [TntBuZnBr]6 to be predominant. In contrast, [TnMe,tBu]ZnBr(HPnMe,tBu) was found to be dynamic in solution