A study protocol outlining the development and evaluation of a training program for frontline managers on leading well-being and the psychosocial work environment in Danish hospital settings - a cluster randomized waitlist controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Hospital staff are often exposed to stressful psychosocial working conditions and report high levels of stress and burnout, which may negatively impact the safety of employees and patients. Managers hold unique knowledge of workplace conditions and needs of employees, but leadership interventions to improve the well-being of managers and employees in hospital settings are scarce. This study evaluates the effects of a leadership intervention based on a health-oriented leadership approach on the well-being and psychosocial work environment aspects of managers and employees. METHODS/DESIGN: The study is designed as a randomized, waitlist-controlled trial with two groups (intervention and waitlist control group) and measurements at baseline, 6- and 12-month follow-up. We aim to include 200 frontline managers in Danish hospital settings and their approximately 5,000 employees. The leadership training comprises five full day modules and four smaller group-training sessions over a period of 5 months. The main aim is to improve stress, burnout, self-care, and perceived level of staff-care among managers and employees. Sickness absence will also be assessed at both manager and employee level. In addition, several psychosocial factors will be assessed at the employee level. A quantitative and qualitative process evaluation will also be conducted. DISCUSSION: Action towards supporting the mental health of hospital employees is important to maintain a strong healthcare system. There is increasing recognition that best practice in workplace mental health requires an integrated approach that prevents harm and promotes positive mental health. There is also increasing understanding of the key role managers' play in maintaining well-being within the workplace, however they often report a lack of knowledge and skills to promote employee mental health. The current leadership training program has been developed for frontline managers working in a hospital setting. The aim is to increase managers' application of strategies to facilitate a healthy psychosocial work environment to benefit well-being and mental health among staff and managers themselves. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was retrospectively registered on November 21, 2022 in Clinical Trial.gov with identifier: NCT05623371.

Compact, low-threshold squeezed light source.

Strongly squeezed light finds many important applications within the fields of quantum metrology, quantum communication and quantum computation. However, due to the bulkiness and complexity of most squeezed light sources of today, they are still not a standard tool in quantum optics labs. We have taken the first steps in realizing a compact, high-performance 1550 nm squeezing source based on commercially available fiber components combined with a free-space double-resonant parametric down-conversion source. The whole setup, including single-pass second-harmonic generation in a waveguide, fits on a 30 cm×45 cm breadboard and produces 9.3 dB of squeezing at a 5 MHz sideband-frequency. The setup is currently limited by phase noise, but further optimization and development should allow for a 19" sized turn-key squeezing source capable of delivering more than 10 dB of squeezing.

Post-mortem MRI-based volumetry of the hippocampus in forensic cases of decedents with severe mental illness.

A decrease in the volume of the hippocampus is associated with severe mental illness, especially schizophrenia, and has been studied extensively in the living using magnetic resonance imaging. Autopsy cohorts also represent a valuable data source for imaging studies. However, post-mortem magnetic resonance imaging (PMMRI) is subject to unique challenges, such as the lower core temperature of scanned subjects and the influence of decomposition processes. This study aimed to determine if results from in vivo studies could be replicated on a post-mortem cohort of decedents who suffered from severe mental illness. We included 96 decedents with either schizophrenia (n = 34), depressive disorder (n = 17), or no known psychiatric diagnosis (n = 45) from April 2015 to January 2017. All cases underwent a T2-weighted cerebral MRI less than 24 h before autopsy. We used a manual segmentation algorithm to define the hippocampus on coronal images and subsequently estimate the volume of the region. The group with schizophrenia had a statistically significant 9.5% decrease in mean hippocampal volume compared with control subjects, while the group with depression trended towards a reduced volume, but this difference was not statistically significant. Thus we were able to replicate previous results from in vivo studies. PMMRI has unique potential for research in that it can be combined with procedures possible only in the research fields of clinical pathology and forensic science, e.g. histopathological sampling.

Marine phospholipids: The current understanding of their oxidation mechanisms and potential uses for food fortification.

There is a growing interest in using marine phospholipids (PL) as ingredient for food fortification due to their numerous health benefits. However, the use of marine PL for food fortification is a challenge due to the complex nature of the degradation products that are formed during the handling and storage of marine PL. For example, nonenzymatic browning reactions may occur between lipid oxidation products and primary amine group from phosphatidylethanolamine or amino acid residues that are present in marine PL. Therefore, marine PL contain products from nonenzymatic browning and lipid oxidation reactions, namely, Strecker aldehydes, pyrroles, oxypolymers, and other impurities that may positively or negatively affect the oxidative stability and quality of marine PL. This review was undertaken to provide the industry and academia with an overview of the current understanding of the quality changes taking place in PL during their production and their storage as well as with regards to their utilization for food fortification.

Effect of a local anesthetic lozenge in relief of symptoms in burning mouth syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with burning mouth syndrome (BMS) often represent a clinical challenge as available agents for symptomatic treatment are few and often ineffective. The aim was to evaluate the effect of a bupivacaine lozenge on oral mucosal pain, xerostomia, and taste alterations in patients with BMS. METHODS: Eighteen patients (4 men and 14 women) aged 39-71 years with BMS were included in this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Lozenges (containing bupivacaine or placebo) were administrated three times a day for 2 weeks for two separate treatment periods. Assessment of oral mucosal pain, xerostomia, and taste alterations was performed in a patient diary on a visual analog scale (ranging from 0 to 100 mm) before and after the lozenge was dissolved. RESULTS: The bupivacaine lozenge significantly reduced the burning oral pain (P < 0.001), increased the sense of taste disturbances (P < 0.001), and had no impact on xerostomia, when adjusted for the treatment period. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the bupivacaine lozenge offers a novel therapeutic modality to patients with BMS, although without alleviating effect on the associated symptoms, taste alterations, and xerostomia.

The Bionanoprobe: hard X-ray fluorescence nanoprobe with cryogenic capabilities.

Hard X-ray fluorescence microscopy is one of the most sensitive techniques for performing trace elemental analysis of biological samples such as whole cells and tissues. Conventional sample preparation methods usually involve dehydration, which removes cellular water and may consequently cause structural collapse, or invasive processes such as embedding. Radiation-induced artifacts may also become an issue, particularly as the spatial resolution increases beyond the sub-micrometer scale. To allow imaging under hydrated conditions, close to the `natural state', as well as to reduce structural radiation damage, the Bionanoprobe (BNP) has been developed, a hard X-ray fluorescence nanoprobe with cryogenic sample environment and cryo transfer capabilities, dedicated to studying trace elements in frozen-hydrated biological systems. The BNP is installed at an undulator beamline at sector 21 of the Advanced Photon Source. It provides a spatial resolution of 30 nm for two-dimensional fluorescence imaging. In this first demonstration the instrument design and motion control principles are described, the instrument performance is quantified, and the first results obtained with the BNP on frozen-hydrated whole cells are reported.

Health related quality of life in patients recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a representative population of patients recently diagnosed with MS in terms of both motor and non-motor disability. In particular we wanted to examine the HRQoL in this population to get a better understanding of what impact various clinical features have on the patients' experience of distress in the early phase of the disease. METHODS: Ninety three patients diagnosed with MS in Hordaland and Rogaland county in 1998-2000 and 96 healthy controls were examined through questionnaires on HRQoL (SF-36), depression (Beck's depression inventory), fatigue (fatigue severity scale) and apathy (Starkstein's apathy scale). The patients also underwent neurological examination including the expanded disability status scale and the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite, as well as the symbol digit memory test and the selective reminder test. RESULTS: Patients with MS reported a lower HRQoL than the controls with a mean physical health summary score of 57.3 compared to 84.5 (P < 0.001), and a mental health summary score of 66.4 vs 79.2 (P < 0.001). The controls scored significantly higher on all SF-36 sub scores except for bodily pain. The incidence of fatigue was 71% in patients compared to 27% in controls (P < 0.001), whereas 46% of patients vs 18% of controls reported depression (P < 0.001). The mean score for apathy was significantly higher among patients. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with recently diagnosed MS reported significantly lower on both physical and mental aspects of HRQoL compared with controls. Depression, fatigue and apathy were more common and more severe in MS. We found no correlation between cognitive decline and HRQoL scores.

[Interface between university medicine and patient care]. / Schnittstelle universitäre Medizin und Patientenversorgung.

The working profile of university hospitals includes medical education, research and implementation of medical innovations as well as large volume patient care. University hospitals offer inpatient, day care and outpatient care which are of essential value for many patients. Besides their primary role in treating rare and orphan diseases and complex cases, they increasingly support general patient care. There are different kinds of outpatient access and treatment options available. The funding of university hospitals and clinics is based on general university funding, income from third party funds for research, income from patient care and funding from the federal states for investments. In recent years these institutions have suffered more and more from economic deficits, a lack of investment and inadequate funding whereby high performance medicine cannot be sufficiently supported. Professors are developing into scientific managers and are frequently assessed by economic outcome and competitiveness. At the same time they are embedded in the structures of the university and are not in the position to make decisions on their own, in contrast to doctors in private practices. Therefore, processes, necessary investments and restructuring are significantly delayed. There is a need to develop strategies for long-term funding and providing university hospitals and clinics with the means to deliver the necessary services.

The relationship between attachment needs, earned secure therapeutic attachment and outcome in adult psychotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate a sequence of associations between clients' pretreatment attachment style, the development of individuated-secure attachment to the therapist (i.e., therapeutic attachment), and the experience of increased comfort with emotional closeness (growing engagement) or independence (growing autonomy) in therapy. Moreover, the study explored whether clients' experience of growing engagement or growing autonomy was associated with a change in interpersonal problems at the end of therapy. METHOD: Three hundred thirty adult clients (mean age 40.2, 75% female) were seen by 44 therapists in individual psychotherapy. The associations between pretreatment attachment insecurity measured on the Experiences in Close Relationships scale, repeated measures of therapeutic attachment measured on the Client Attachment to Therapist Scale, repeated measures of a growing engagement or growing autonomy measured on the Therapeutic Distance Scale, and pre-post measures of interpersonal problems measured on the Inventory for Interpersonal Problems were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Two types of therapeutic attachment were estimated, one controlling for anxious attachment characteristics and one for avoidant. RESULTS: Significant associations between higher levels of therapeutic attachment controlled for avoidant attachment characteristics and lower levels of growing autonomy in therapy were found. Moreover, higher levels of growing engagement in therapy and higher levels of therapeutic attachment controlled for anxious attachment characteristics were associated with a decrease in interpersonal problems at the end of therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Distinct types of therapeutic attachment may exert different influences on the process and outcome of therapy. Furthermore, therapists' attunement to clients' specific attachment needs in therapy may enhance interpersonal outcomes of treatment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Osteopathology associated with bone resorption inhibitors - which role does Actinomyces play? A presentation of 51 cases with systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Bone resorption inhibitor-related osteopathology of the jaw (BRIOJ) is a severe complication in patients treated with bisphosphonates or denosumab. However, the precise pathogenesis of BRIOJ is not yet fully understood. Recent studies discovered the presence of Actinomyces colonies in biopsy material from BRIOJ patients. The aim of this study was to analyze current knowledge concerning the impact of Actinomyces on the pathogenesis of this condition and to present data from our own patients. METHODS: Data from 51 patients with histopathological diagnoses of BRIOJ were retrospectively analyzed. In addition, a systematic literature search for studies describing the presence of Actinomyces was performed. RESULTS: Actinomyces was present in 86% of our cases and 63.3% of 371 cases presented in the literature. All of our patients and 85% of patients described in the literature had a clearly defined local focus in association with osteopathology. A clear picture of whether Actinomyces colonizes the previously necrotic bone or contributes to inflammation causing subsequent bone necrosis is lacking in the literature. CONCLUSION: The pathogenesis of BRIOJ remains unknown; however, there seems to be a role for Actinomyces, and possibly other pathogens, in the development of osteopathology of the jaws, which is not exclusive to bisphosphonate therapy. This study supports the hypothesis that an infectious component is of utmost importance for the pathogenesis of BRIOJ.

Utility and adoption of CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 genotyping and its translation into psychiatric clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE: To describe clinical utility and adoption of routinely offered CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 genotyping (CYP test) in daily clinical practice of a psychiatric centre. METHOD: We described psychiatrists translations of CYP test results in patients with genotypes indicating poor or ultrarapid metabolizer status and treated with at least one CYP-dependent drug based on a retrospective review of medical records. Complementary, we used ethnographic participant observation and qualitative interviews to identify the barriers and incentives for the use of CYP test results. RESULTS: The cohort study included 101 of 1932 cases genotyped between 2003 and 2009. In 53 of 101 cases, test results were addressed in medical records. The most frequent response was to monitor drug concentrations (23 cases), observe for adverse events (18 cases) and adjust dosage (13 cases). In 33 of 101 cases, results were mentioned in the discharge letter. The ethnographic study indicated a poor adoption of the CYP test in clinical praxis. Test results were lost in workflows and knowledge transfer between laboratory and clinician and were absent from clinical routines, treatment conferences and educational fora. CONCLUSION: The CYP test has not gained foothold in clinical practice, and its potential clinical benefits are not utilized.

[The most serious incident-Experiences of aggression and violence in ophthalmology]. / Der schwerwiegendste Vorfall ­ Erfahrungen von Aggressionen und Gewalt in der Augenheilkunde.

BACKGROUND: Experiences of aggression/violence influence job satisfaction and can have a long-term psychological and physical impact on employees. In the fall of 2018, the Professional Association of Ophthalmologists (BVA) and the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG) conducted a survey on experiences of aggression and violence. The first results were published in 2020. In the survey it was also possible to describe the most serious incident to date using free text fields, among others. METHOD: All 9411 members of the DOG and BVA were given the opportunity to complete a questionnaire online in 2018 regarding aggression and violence in ophthalmology. RESULTS: Overall, 253 of 1508 (16.8%) ophthalmologists participating in the survey reported their most serious incident, 46.8% of which were classified as moderate and 34.3% were related to verbal violence such as insults and threats. The most serious incident was experienced by 171 (67.6%) physicians in a practice setting, 71% were specialists at the time of the incident and 74.3% of the incidents occurred during regular working hours. The main causes were intercultural conflicts, long waiting times, problems with the allocation of appointments, excessive expectations, differences in treatment and basic aggressiveness. The offenders were male in 86.3% of cases, 15.8% of the incidents were reported to the police and 21 (8.3%) physicians issued a practice reprimand or house ban. DISCUSSION: The description of the most serious incidents illustrates situations that are sometimes hard to imagine and also which incidents were considered serious. There are large subjective variations in the assessment of the incidents. Protective measures in practices and clinics are essential.

The intrinsic factor-vitamin B12 receptor, cubilin, is a high-affinity apolipoprotein A-I receptor facilitating endocytosis of high-density lipoprotein.

Cubilin is the intestinal receptor for the endocytosis of intrinsic factor-vitamin B12. However, several lines of evidence, including a high expression in kidney and yolk sac, indicate it may have additional functions. We isolated apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the main protein of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), using cubilin affinity chromatography. Surface plasmon resonance analysis demonstrated a high-affinity binding of apoA-I and HDL to cubilin, and cubilin-expressing yolk sac cells showed efficient 125I-HDL endocytosis that could be inhibited by IgG antibodies against apoA-I and cubilin. The physiological relevance of the cubilin-apoA-I interaction was further emphasized by urinary apoA-I loss in some known cases of functional cubilin deficiency. Therefore, cubilin is a receptor in epithelial apoA-I/HDL metabolism.

Computer assisted maxillofacial surgery.

Technical developments strongly influence modern medicine. This is especially obvious in imaging technology. Today, one of the most difficult tasks for surgeons is transferring all the available imaging information for their patients into one "complete picture". In the operation theatre, this picture then has to be applied to the patient. Computer-assisted surgery (CAS) promises to help in fulfilling this task and, thereby, to fully utilize the possibilities offered by modern imaging techniques. Today's standard procedures for CAS in the maxillofacial region are described in technical principles and clinical applications. They are evaluated and discussed based on the available literature and in light of practical experience of more than ten years in the field of CAS. In addition, an outlook is given into developments of the near future that have appeared in the current literature. While technical development is leading toward a complete integration of all processes surrounding the patient and his or her surgery, basic CAS has moved from research to clinical care. Before it is routinely used, more investigation about its effectiveness and benefits has to be done, especially since increasing medical care costs are an issue in all countries.

Influence of temperature and predation on survival of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and expression of invA in soil and manure-amended soil.

The effects of three temperatures (5, 15, and 25 degrees C) on the survival of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in topsoil were investigated in small microcosms by three different techniques: plate counting, invA gene quantification, and invA mRNA quantification. Differences in survival were related to the effect of protozoan predation. Tetracycline-resistant Salmonella serovar Typhimurium was inoculated into soil and manure-amended soil at 1.5 x 10(8) cells g soil(-1). Population densities were determined by plate counting and by molecular methods and monitored for 42 days. Simultaneous extraction of RNA and DNA, followed by quantitative PCR, was used to investigate invA gene levels and expression. Analysis by these three techniques showed that Salmonella serovar Typhimurium survived better at 5 degrees C. Comparing DNA and CFU levels, significantly higher values were determined by DNA-based techniques. invA mRNA levels showed a fast decrease in activity, with no detectable mRNA after an incubation period of less than 4 days in any of the soil scenarios. A negative correlation was found between Salmonella serovar Typhimurium CFU levels and protozoan most probable numbers, and we propose the role of the predator-prey interaction as a factor to explain the die-off of the introduced strain by both culture- and DNA quantification-based methods. The results indicate that temperature, manure, and protozoan predation are important factors influencing the survival of Salmonella serovar Typhimurium in soil.

Soft x-ray microscopy.

Soft x-ray microscopes are beginning to provide information to complement that obtained from optical and electron microscopy. Soft x-ray microscopy can deliver 30-nm resolution images of hydrated cells up to approximately 10 microns thick, and efforts towards obtaining higher resolution are under way. Although living specimens cannot be studied readily except in single exposures, fixed samples can be imaged at high resolution, and flash-frozen specimens can be studied without chemical modification and without significant radiation damage. Tomography is being developed for 3-D imaging, and spectromicroscopy offers unique capabilities for biochemical mapping of unlabelled structures beyond those of gold and fluorescent labels. Currently, most soft x-ray microscopes operate at synchrotron radiation facilities, but laboratory-scale microscopes are being developed too.

X-ray holograms at improved resolution: a study of zymogen granules.

X-ray holography offers the possibility of three-dimensional microscopy with resolution higher than that of the light microscope and with contrast based on x-ray edges. In principle, the method is especially advantageous for biological samples if x-rays in the wavelength region between the carbon and oxygen K edges are used. However, until now the achieved resolution has not exceeded that of the light microscope because of the poor coherence properties of the x-ray sources and the low resolution of the detectors that were available. With a recently developed x-ray source based on an undulator on an electron storage ring, and high resolution x-ray resist, a hologram has been recorded at about 400-angstrom resolution. The experiment utilized x-rays with wavelengths of 24.7 angstroms and required a 1-hour exposure of the pancreatic zymogen granules under study.

Atomic-resolution in situ transmission electron microscopy of a promoter of a heterogeneous catalyst.

Insight into the location, state, and function of a promoter in heterogeneous catalysis was obtained through atomic-resolution in situ transmission electron microscopy. In the most active ruthenium catalyst for ammonia synthesis known so far, the barium promoter is shown to be located in two different phases in the catalyst. The increased activity is suggested to be related to a two-dimensional barium-oxygen overlayer on the ruthenium crystals. The possibility for conducting such studies for other reactions could add substantially to our current understanding of heterogeneous catalysis. Heterogeneous catalysis plays an increasingly important role in environmental protection processes, in fuel upgrading, and in providing the majority of the chemical building blocks required by contemporary society. Most heterogeneous catalysts of industrial importance are multicomponent materials that are designed by trial-and-error experimentation. Application of even the most sophisticated physical-chemical characterization techniques is usually not sufficient to obtain a complete understanding of the structure of the active site, the reaction mechanism and kinetics, the structural dynamics, and the specific roles of all catalyst components.

High-Resolution Imaging by Fourier Transform X-ray Holography.

Fourier transform x-ray holography has been used to image gold test objects with submicrometer structure, resolving features as small as 60 nanometers. The hologram-recording instrument uses coherent 3.4-nanometer radiation from the soft x-ray undulator beamline X1A at the National Synchrotron Light Source. The specimen to be imaged is placed near the first-order focal spot produced by a Fresnel zone plate; the other orders, chiefly the zeroth, illuminate the specimen. The wave scattered by the specimen interferes with the spherical reference wave from the focal spot, forming a hologram with fringes of low spatial frequency. The hologram is recorded in digital form by a charge-coupled device camera, and the specimen image is obtained by numerical reconstruction.

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome: preventive control by prenatal diagnosis.

The Lesch-Nyhan syndrome was detected in a fetus at a time sufficiently early to allow termination of the pregnancy. The feasibility of a preventive program for control of a severe sex-linked neurological disease through prenatal diagnosis is thus demonstrated.