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Background: Quality of life in patients represents an important area of assessment. However, attention to health professionals should be equally important. The literature on the quality of life (QOL) of emergency physicians is scarce. This pilot study investigated QOL in emergency physicians in Germany. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study from January to June in 2015. We approached the German Association of Emergency Medicine Physicians and two of the largest recruitment agencies for emergency physicians in Germany and invited their members to participate. We used the WHO Q-BREF to obtain QOL scores in four domains that included physical, mental, social, and environmental health. Results: The 478 German emergency physicians included in the study held board certifications in general medicine (n = 40; 8.4%), anesthesiology (n = 243; 50.8%), surgery (n = 63; 13.2%), internal medicine (n = 81; 17.0%), or others (n = 51; 10.7%). The women surveyed tended to report a better QOL but worse general health than the men. Regarding specific domains, women scored worse in physical health, particularly energy during everyday work (relative risk ratio [RRR]: 1.98 [1.21-3.24]). Both men and women scored worse in psychological health than general health, particularly young women. Women were also more likely to view their safety (RRR: 1.87 [1.07-3.28]) and living place (RRR: 2.51 [1.10-5.73]) as being poor than their male counterparts. Conclusion: QOL in German prehospital emergency care physicians is satisfactory for the included participants; however, there were some negative effects in the psychological health domain. This is particularly obvious in young female emergency physicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are fundamental regulators of pre- and post-transcriptional gene regulation. Over 35,000 different lncRNAs have been described with some of them being involved in cancer formation. The present study was initiated to describe differentially expressed lncRNAs in basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Patients with BCC ( n = 6) were included in this study. Punch biopsies were harvested from the tumor center and nonlesional epidermal skin (NLES, control, n = 6). Microarray-based lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles were identified through screening for 30,586 lncRNAs and 26,109 protein-coding transcripts (mRNAs). The microarray data were validated by RT-PCR in a second set of BCC versus control samples. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of mRNAs were performed to assess biologically relevant pathways. A total of 1851 lncRNAs were identified as being significantly up-regulated, whereas 2165 lncRNAs were identified as being significantly down-regulated compared to nonlesional skin ( p < 0.05). Oncogenic and/or epidermis-specific lncRNAs, such as CASC15 or ANRIL, were among the differentially expressed sequences. GO analysis showed that the highest enriched GO targeted by up-regulated transcripts was 'extracellular matrix.' KEGG pathway analysis showed the highest enrichment scores in 'Focal adhesion.' BCC showed a significantly altered lncRNA and mRNA expression profile. Dysregulation of previously described lncRNAs may play a role in the molecular pathogenesis of BCC and should be subject of further analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Actually it remains unclear whether specific psychiatric disorders, especially emotional disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), may be meaningful in the pathogenesis of computer game misuse. Objective In this clinical study with adolescent psychiatric patients we expected a moderate to strong correlation between computer game misuse and emotional, conduct and peer problems, as well as symptoms of ADHD. Method 183 patients (14.9 ± 1.5 years) from a child and adolescent psychiatric clinic were assessed for computer game misuse or addiction using the CSV-S scale in order to distinguish between regular and excessive computer gaming. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to screen for actual emotional and behavioral difficulties. Results Within the patients' group with problematic computer gaming especially male patients with the highest addiction score spent significantly more time on computer gaming and presented more school performance problems as well as other comorbidities. Excessive gaming correlated significantly with conduct and emotional problems. No specific psychiatric disorders correlated to computer game misuse or addiction. Conclusion Misuse or addiction of computer games in psychiatric patients seems to be related to an increased rate of conduct and emotional problems but related specific psychiatric diagnoses could not be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are fundamental regulators of pre- and post-transcriptional gene regulation. Over 35,000 different lncRNAs have been described with some of them being involved in cancer formation. The present study was initiated to describe differentially expressed lncRNAs in basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Patients with BCC (n = 6) were included in this study. Punch biopsies were harvested from the tumor center and nonlesional epidermal skin (NLES, control, n = 6). Microarray-based lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles were identified through screening for 30,586 lncRNAs and 26,109 protein-coding transcripts (mRNAs). The microarray data were validated by RT-PCR in a second set of BCC versus control samples. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of mRNAs were performed to assess biologically relevant pathways. A total of 1851 lncRNAs were identified as being significantly up-regulated, whereas 2165 lncRNAs were identified as being significantly down-regulated compared to nonlesional skin (p < 0.05). Oncogenic and/or epidermis-specific lncRNAs, such as CASC15 or ANRIL, were among the differentially expressed sequences. GO analysis showed that the highest enriched GO targeted by up-regulated transcripts was "extracellular matrix." KEGG pathway analysis showed the highest enrichment scores in "Focal adhesion." BCC showed a significantly altered lncRNA and mRNA expression profile. Dysregulation of previously described lncRNAs may play a role in the molecular pathogenesis of BCC and should be subject of further analysis.

Satisfaction with the latest-generation insulin pump (LGIP) was assessed in patients with diabetes mellitus enrolled in the Comparing Perception of Insulin Therapies for T1D Patients with the Aim to Improve Quality of Care (CHOICE) study. The Insulin Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (ITSQ), a measure of insulin treatment satisfaction, together with additional questions assessed respondents' perceptions of glucose control, their satisfaction with major LGIP features and preference for the LGIP versus their previous treatment, was used. The LGIP (Animas ® Vibe™) was considered to be a better method for delivering insulin compared with their therapy before switching and was rated high for treatment satisfaction. These findings should be useful to clinicians when considering the possibility of transferring a patient from their existing treatment regimen to a LGIP., Competing Interests: Disclosure: Michael Bromba is an employee of Froidevaux & Partner, Zurich, Switzerland. Fiona Campbell has no conflicts of interest to declare. Brian L Levy is an employee of LifeScan Inc, Inc. of Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Solutions Companies.

The effects of transition by individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to more recently available continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)-enabled insulin pumps from either multiple daily insulin injections (MDI) or older insulin pumps on treatment satisfaction have not been well studied. We conducted a survey to assess treatment satisfaction among users of the Animas(®) Vibe™ insulin pump, a latest generation insulin pump (LGIP) system (CGM-enabled), after switching from MDI or earlier generation insulin pumps. Individuals with T1D from 141 centers in 5 countries and 4 language areas participated in the survey. Treatment satisfaction was assessed by the Insulin Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (ITSQ), which was included in a 50-item online questionnaire that also assessed preference for using the LGIP compared with previous treatment and satisfaction with key LGIP features. A total of 356 individuals, ages 12-79 years, responded to the survey: mean (SD) age 38.4 (16.1) years; diabetes duration 19.1 (13.3) years; female 59%; previously treated with MDI 58%. Overall mean (SD) ITSQ scores were high among all respondents regardless of prior treatment: 95.1 (23.2) (scale: 0-132). No differences between previous-treatment groups were seen. Most (83%) of respondents rated the LGIP to be better than their previous insulin delivery system: "much better" (65%), "a bit better" (18%) regardless of age, and 95% would recommend using the LGIP to others. Use of the Animas Vibe was associated with high treatment satisfaction and perceived as a better method of insulin delivery regardless of previous insulin therapy or age., (© 2015 Diabetes Technology Society.)