Driving restrictions for Dutch patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator : Compliance and associated factors.

BACKGROUND: Dutch patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) are restricted from driving for two months after implantation or shocks. This requires significant lifestyle adjustments and is one of the primary concerns of ICD patients. Previous studies indicated that compliance with the driving restrictions is poor, but insight in socio-demographic, clinical and psychological factors associated with compliance is limited. Hence, this study aimed to explore compliance with the driving restrictions and associated factors in a large sample of Dutch ICD patients. METHOD: Dutch ICD patients (N = 313) completed an elaborative set of questionnaires at time of implantation and at four months after implantation, assessing socio-demographic, psychological and driving-related characteristics. Clinical data were collected from the patients' medical records. RESULTS: A substantial subgroup (28%) of the patient sample (median age 64 (interquartile range = 55-71), 81% male) reported to have been noncompliant with the driving restrictions. Univariate analysis indicated that noncompliant patients more often considered refusing the ICD due to the restrictions, compared to compliant patients (19% versus 10%, p = 0.02). Multivariate analysis showed that the feeling of understanding the reason behind the driving restrictions was associated with better compliance (odds ratio = 2.16, 95% confidence interval 1.02-4.56, p = 0.04). No other socio-demographic, clinical, psychological or driving-related factors were associated with compliance. CONCLUSION: A large number of ICD patients does not comply with the driving restrictions after implantation. This study emphasised the importance of the patient's feeling of understanding the reason behind the restrictions.

Ant queens adjust egg fertilization to benefit from both sexual and asexual reproduction.

An enduring problem in evolutionary biology is the near ubiquity of sexual reproduction despite the inherent cost of transmitting only half the parent's genes to progeny. Queens of some ant species circumvent this cost by using selectively both sexual reproduction and parthenogenesis: workers arise from fertilized eggs, while new queens are produced by parthenogenesis. We show that queens of the ant Cataglyphis cursor maximize the transmission rate of their genes by regulating the proportion of fertilized and parthenogenetic eggs laid over time. Parthenogenetic offspring are produced in early spring, when workers raise the brood into sexuals. After the mating period, queens lay mostly fertilized eggs that will be reared as the non-reproductive caste.

Corrigendum to "Clinical Presentation, Natural History, and Therapeutic Approach in Patients with Solitary Fibrous Tumor: A Retrospective Analysis".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2020/1385978.].

Clinical Presentation, Natural History, and Therapeutic Approach in Patients with Solitary Fibrous Tumor: A Retrospective Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare variant of soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Materials and Methods. We reviewed SFT patients (pts) treated at our institution between 12/1990 and 09/2017. RESULTS: We identified 94 pts with a median follow-up (mFU) of 4.7 years (range: 0.1-21.53). Primary sites were the chest (33%), abdomen (21.3%), brain (12.8%), and extremities (9.6%); 6.4% of pts presented with synchronous metastasis. Median overall survival (mOS) from the first diagnosis was 56.0 months (m) (0.3-258.3). Doege-Potter syndrome was seen in 2.1% of pts. Primary resection was performed in 86 pts (91.5%). Median progression-free survival was 34.1 m (1.0-157.1), and 43% of pts stayed SFT-free during FU. Local recurrence occurred in 26.7% after a mFU of 35.5 m (1.0-153.8), associated with an OS of 45.1 m (4.7-118.2). Metachronous metastasis occurred in 30.2% after a mFU of 36.0 m (0.1-157.1). OS in metastatic pts was 19.0 m (0.3-149.0). Systemic therapy was given to 26 pts (27.7%) with inoperable/metastatic disease. The most common (57.7%) upfront therapy was doxorubicin, achieving responses in 13.3% of pts with a PFS of 4.8 m (0.4-23.8). In second line, pts were treated with ifosfamide or pazopanib, the latter achieving the highest response rates. Third-line treatment was heterogeneous. CONCLUSION: SFT is an orphan malignancy with a highly variable clinical course and a considerable risk of local failure and metachronous metastasis. Surgery is the only curative option; palliative systemic therapy is used in inoperable/metastatic cases but achieves low response rates. The highest response rates are seen with pazopanib in second/third line.

Population genetic structure, worker reproduction and thelytokous parthenogenesis in the desert ant Cataglyphis sabulosa.

In social Hymenoptera, within-colony relatedness is usually high due to the haplodiploid sex-determining system. However, factors such as the presence of multiple reproductive queens (polygyny), multiple queen matings (polyandry) or worker reproduction result in decreased relatedness among workers and the brood they rear, and consequently dilute their inclusive fitness benefits from helping. Here, we investigated population genetic structure, mating system, worker reproduction and parthenogenesis in the desert ant Cataglyphis sabulosa. Analysis of worker genotypes showed that colonies are headed by a single queen, mated with 1-5 males. The inbreeding coefficient within colonies and the levels of relatedness between the queens and their mates were positive, indicating that mating occurs between related individuals. Moreover, the mates of a queen are on average related and contribute equally to worker production. Our analyses also indicate that colonies are genetically differentiated and form a population exhibiting no isolation-by-distance pattern, consistent with the independent foundation of new colonies (that is, without the help of workers). Finally, both ovarian dissections and genetic data on the parentage of males show that workers do not reproduce in queenright colonies; however, they lay both haploid (arrhenotokous males) and diploid (thelytokous females) eggs in queenless colonies. In contrast to the congeneric species C. cursor, where new queens are produced by thelytokous parthenogenesis, female sexuals of C. sabulosa result from classical sexual reproduction.

Illness perceptions in patients with heart failure and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator: Dimensional structure, validity, and correlates of the brief illness perception questionnaire in Dutch, French and German patients.

BACKGROUND: Patients' illness perceptions are associated with psychological wellbeing and can be measured with the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ). However, little is known about illness perceptions in patients with heart failure. We examined the dimensional structure, validity and clinical and psychological correlates of the B-IPQ in Dutch, French and German patients with heart failure and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). METHOD: European heart failure patients (n=585) participating in the REMOTE-CIED study completed a set of questionnaires 1-2weeks post ICD-implantation, including the B-IPQ. Information on clinical data was captured from patients' medical records. RESULTS: A two-factor structure (I='Consequences'; II='Control') represented 7 out of 8 B-IPQ items in the total sample and Dutch, German and French subgroups. The total B-IPQ had a Cronbach's α of 0.69, with the 'Consequences' subscale being more internally consistent (α=0.80). Both the B-IPQ and its 'Consequences' subscale were significantly correlated with a number of psychological characteristics, but not with clinical characteristics. Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that threatening illness perceptions as measured with the total B-IPQ were associated with poor health status (OR=2.66, 95%CI=1.72-4.11), anxiety (OR=1.79, 95%CI=1.001-3.19), depression (OR=2.81, 95%CI=1.65-4.77), negative affectivity (OR=1.93, 95%CI=1.21-3.09) and poor ICD acceptance (OR=2.68, 95%CI=1.70-4.22). CONCLUSION: The B-IPQ demonstrated good psychometric properties in Dutch, French and German patients with heart failure. Psychological factors were the most important correlates of patients' perceptions of heart failure, emphasizing the importance of targeting maladaptive illness perceptions in this population, due to their impact on patients' wellbeing and quality of life.