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Kinetic editing of lipochitooligosaccharides determines sign activation involving symbiotic plant receptors.
A critical question for policy makers in health care is whether external interventions have unintended consequences such as lowering professionals' job satisfaction. We investigate whether a non-monetary incentive, in the form of mandatory accreditation, affects the job satisfaction of Danish GPs. Accreditation of general practice in Denmark was introduced as a cluster randomised stepwise implementation from 2016 to 2018. We measure job satisfaction at three time points before the randomisation took place, one year into the accreditation process and two years into the accreditation process. We use a balanced panel of GPs who have completed all three waves of the survey (n = 846) and estimate a series of random and mixed effects ordered logit models. Despite many GPs having negative attitudes towards accreditation, we find no evidence of accreditation affecting GP job satisfaction. However, there are negative associations between job satisfaction and perceiving accreditation as a tool for external control. Policy makers are therefore encouraged to carefully inform about new interventions and identify barriers to diminish pre-existing negative perceptions about the incentive.Background Serum chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) is a potential biomarker for fibrosis assessment. We aimed to evaluate serum CHI3L1 as a noninvasive diagnostic marker for chronic hepatitis B virus-related fibrosis. Methods Serum CHI3L1 levels were measured by ELISA in 134 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Significant fibrosis was defined as a liver stiffness >9.7 kPa. The performance of CHI3L1 was assessed and compared to that of other noninvasive tests by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results Serum CHI3L1 levels were significantly higher in CHB patients with significant hepatic fibrosis (≥F2, 81.9 ng/mL) than in those without significant hepatic fibrosis ( less then F2, 56.5 ng/mL) (P less then 0.001). In CHB patients, the specificity and sensitivity of CHI3L1 for predicting significant fibrosis were 75.6% and 59.1%, respectively, with a cut-off of 76.0 ng/mL and an area under the ROC curve of 0.728 (95% CI 0.637-0.820). Conclusions Serum CHI3L1 levels could be an effective new serological biomarker for the diagnosis of fibrosis. Moreover, CHI3L1 is feasible in monitoring disease progression.The relationship between childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (c-ADHD) and psychosis has been understudied. check details Cognitive dysfunction is a core feature of both disorders, but no previous study has investigated whether first-episode psychosis (FEP) with c-ADHD (FEP-ADHD+) presents a different cognitive profile than FEP without c-ADHD (FEP-ADHD-). One hundred and thirty-three FEP outpatients were screened for c-ADHD through a diagnostic interview and underwent a comprehensive clinical and cognitive assessment with the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Cognitive differences among FEP groups, and a group of 65 healthy controls (HCs) were analysed by multivariate analysis of covariance. Nearly 25% of FEP fulfilled criteria for c-ADHD. Both FEP groups performed worse than HCs in speed processing, executive function and social cognition, but only the FEP-ADHD+group was significantly more impaired than the HC group in attention (F = 4.35; p = 0.04). Only the Trail Making Test A (TMT-A) (F = 6.99; p = 0.01) within the domain of processing speed and the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB) (F = 6.46; p = 0.01) within the domain of executive function reliably differentiated the two clinical groups. The FEP groups did not differ in the severity of psychopathology, but the FEP-ADHD+reported fewer years of education than the FEP-ADHD- and were more likely to use tobacco and cannabis and to require higher doses of antipsychotics to achieve a clinical response. In conclusion, we found a gradient of severity in cognitive performance between groups, with FEP-ADHD+ having the greatest cognitive impairment. Our results suggest that FEP-ADHD+ represents a subgroup with a worse prognosis than FEP-ADHD-.Background This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of comprehensive on-site coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) using stenosis and plaque measures and subtended myocardial mass (Vsub) for fractional flow reserve (FFR) defined hemodynamically obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Additionally, the incremental diagnostic value of off-site CT-derived FFR (FFRCT) was assessed. Methods Prospectively enrolled patients underwent CCTA followed by invasive FFR interrogation of all major coronary arteries. Vessels with ≥30% stenosis were included for analysis. On-site CCTA assessment included qualitative and quantitative stenosis (visual grading and minimal lumen area, MLA) and plaque measures (characteristics and volumes), and Vsub. Diagnostic value of comprehensive on-site CCTA assessment was tested by comparing area under the curves (AUC). In vessels with available FFRCT, the incremental value of off-site FFRCT was tested. Results In 236 vessels (132 patients), MLA, positive remodeling, non-calcified plaque volume, and Vsub were independent on-site CCTA predictors for hemodynamically obstructive CAD (p less then 0.05 for all). Vsub/MLA2 outperformed all these on-site CCTA parameters (AUC = 0.85) and Vsub was incremental to all other CCTA predictors (p = 0.02). In subgroup analysis (n = 194 vessels), diagnostic performance of FFRCT and Vsub/MLA2 was similar (AUC 0.89 and 0.85 respectively, p = 0.25). Furthermore, diagnostic performance significantly albeit minimally increased when FFRCT was added to on-site CCTA assessment (ΔAUC = 0.03, p = 0.02). Conclusions In comprehensive on-site CCTA assessment, Vsub/MLA2 demonstrated greatest diagnostic value for hemodynamically obstructive CAD and Vsub was incremental to all evaluated CCTA indices. Additionally, adding FFRCT only minimally increased diagnostic performance, demonstrating that on-site CCTA assessment is a reasonable alternative to FFRCT.Background Cancer patients presenting with COVID-19 have a high risk of death. In this work, predictive factors for survival in cancer patients with suspected SARS-COV-2 infection were investigated. Methods PRE-COVID-19 is a retrospective study of all 302 cancer patients presenting to this institute with a suspicion of COVID-19 from March 1st to April 25th 2020. Data were collected using a web-based tool within electronic patient record approved by the Institutional Review Board. Patient characteristics symptoms and survival were collected and compared in SARS-COV-2 real-time or reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR)-positive and RT-PCR-negative patients. Results Fifty-five of the 302 (18.2%) patients with suspected COVID-19 had detectable SARS-COV-2 with RT-PCR in nasopharyngeal samples. RT-PCR-positive patients were older, had more frequently haematological malignancies, respiratory symptoms and suspected COVID-19 pneumonia of computed tomography (CT) scan. However, respectively, 38% and 20% of SARS-COV-2 RT-PCR-negative patients presented similar respiratory symptoms and CT scan images.
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