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Background: Emerging issues in the management of major depressive disorder (MDD) comprise a nonadherence to treatment and treatment failures, depressive recurrence and relapses, misidentification of incoming exacerbated phases and consequently, a chronification of depression. While antidepressant drugs constitute the standard of care for MDD, effective psychosocial interventions are needed to reduce rehospitalizations and other adverse events. The present study primarily investigated the effects and impact of implementing a structured psychoeducational intervention on the clinical course of MDD. Methods: A non-randomized comparative, pragmatic, pilot, single-center study of adults with nonpsychotic moderate or severe episode of MDD recently discharged from a psychiatric hospitalization. The consecutive subjects were allocated either to the intervention group (N=49) or to the attention control group (N=47), based on their preference. The psychoeducational intervention was based on a modified Munoz's Depression Prevention Course. Subjects were followed up prospectively for two years. Results: The absolute changes in Beck anxiety inventory scale, Zung's depression questionnaire, and Montgomery and Äsberg depression rating scale (MADRS) total scores at 6-month follow-up were comparable between the two groups. There were lower rates of the rehospitalization within one year (2.1% vs. 16.7%; P<0.001) and less rehospitalizations after one year (6.3% vs. 25%; P<0.001), lower rates of the ongoing sickness absence (11.5% vs. 29.2%; P<0.001), less persons with disability due to MDD at 1-year follow-up (1% vs. 11.5%; P=0.002), and less nonadherent subjects who self-discontinued treatment (6.3% vs. 28.1%; P<0.001) among participants in the intervention group compared to the control group. The disability due to MDD at 1-year follow-up was predicted by the absence of the psychoeducational intervention (P=0.002) and by the MADRS total score at 6-month follow-up (OR 1.10; 95% CI 1.003-1.195; P=0.044). Qualitative data indicated the intervention was desired and appreciated by the participants, as well as being practical to implement in Slovakian clinical settings. Conclusion: The results suggest the psychoeducational intervention based on a modified Munoz's Depression Prevention Course has beneficial effects in adults with MDD recently discharged from a psychiatric hospitalization. The findings implicate the psychoeducational intervention may offer a new approach to the prevention of depressive relapses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on customer satisfaction in repeat purchases shows that the relationship between customer expectations and customer satisfaction can be inverse to what is commonly reported. This also has an impact on the financial performance of an enterprise, which is therefore directly influenced by customer expectations. The goal of this paper is to determine whether customer satisfaction affects customer expectations and whether these expectations have a direct impact on the financial performance of an enterprise. The variables representing factors of customer satisfaction, including customer expectations, are measured using a customer survey. Business financial performance (BFP) was measured using the ROA, ROE, and Asset Turnover indicators. The model was created using Structural Equation Modelling. The research confirmed a positive direct effect of customer expectations on BFP (specifically ROA). Customer satisfaction impacted financial performance indirectly via customer expectations in two years. This suggests that the influence of customer expectations on BFP is long-term in nature, although this effect is rather weak. As customers make repeat purchases, customer expectations change. These changes reflect relationships primarily with customer satisfaction and loyalty and BFP. Customer satisfaction is shown to influence customer expectations, which in turn influence BFP. Therefore, it is advisable to focus on (raising) customer expectations in repeat purchases if the businesses want to achieve higher financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this research is the influence of numerous factors and variables on customer satisfaction, which is one of the main factors of the company's competitiveness. The objective of the study, therefore, is to ascertain which factors and variables influence customer satisfaction and, as a result, the competitiveness of the enterprise from within the food industry. The research has been conceived in two successive steps. The first of these is to discover the influence of selected factors on customer satisfaction. Amongst these were factors which not only sometimes clearly influenced customer satisfaction (factors of customer satisfaction), but also factors which clearly influenced other types of satisfaction which were then associated with customer satisfaction (personal characteristics). In the second step, mutual relationships between the two groups of factors is described. The research was carried out on a sample of firms in the food industry along with their end customers. Multiple regression and a hierarchical mixed-effect model with the appropriate statistical tests were used for modelling. From the results it emerges that only the factors of customer satisfaction (customer expectation, perceived quality and perceived value) have an effect on overall customer satisfaction. The influence of personal characteristics was not proven. However, a (weak) relationship was shown between some of the factors of customer satisfaction (perceived value, perceived quality, competitiveness and customer expectation) and a number of factors from the group of personal characteristics (financial capacity, level of optimism and level of planning). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent cause of dementia in elderly people worldwide. Many studies support the hypothesis that the inflammation of the CNS contributes to the neurodegeneration and disease progression. The integrin molecule α4β1, also known as very late antigen 4 (VLA-4), belongs to adhesion molecules that activate the inflammatory process through the migration of immune cells into the CNS. Therefore, the objective of our study was to analyze the association between two polymorphisms located in the ITGA4 gene encoding the α4 subunit of VLA-4 and the risk of AD. 104 late-onset AD patients and 206 control subjects from Slovakia were genotyped for ITGA4 gene SNP polymorphism rs113276800 (−269C/A) and rs1143676 (+3061A/G). The same study cohorts were also genotyped for the APOE-ε4, which is a known genetic factor associated with increased risk of AD developing. ITGA4 polymorphism analysis revealed significantly higher frequency of the +3061AG carriers in AD group compared to the controls (P≤0.05). Following the APOE-ε4 stratification of study groups, the association remained significant only in APOE-ε4 noncarriers. Our study suggests a novel association of ITGA4 +3061A/G polymorphism with AD and its possible contribution to the disease pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emerging issues in the management of major depressive disorder (MDD) comprise a nonadherence to treatment and treatment failures, depressive recurrence and relapses, misidentification of incoming exacerbated phases and consequently, a chronification of depression. While antidepressant drugs constitute the standard of care for MDD, effective psychosocial interventions are needed to reduce rehospitalizations and other adverse events. The present study primarily investigated the effects and impact of implementing a structured psychoeducational intervention on the clinical course of MDD., Methods: A non-randomized comparative, pragmatic, pilot, single-center study of adults with nonpsychotic moderate or severe episode of MDD recently discharged from a psychiatric hospitalization. The consecutive subjects were allocated either to the intervention group ( N =49) or to the attention control group ( N =47), based on their preference. The psychoeducational intervention was based on a modified Munoz's Depression Prevention Course. Subjects were followed up prospectively for two years., Results: The absolute changes in Beck anxiety inventory scale, Zung's depression questionnaire, and Montgomery and Äsberg depression rating scale (MADRS) total scores at 6-month follow-up were comparable between the two groups. There were lower rates of the rehospitalization within one year (2.1% vs. 16.7%; P <0.001) and less rehospitalizations after one year (6.3% vs. 25%; P <0.001), lower rates of the ongoing sickness absence (11.5% vs. 29.2%; P <0.001), less persons with disability due to MDD at 1-year follow-up (1% vs. 11.5%; P =0.002), and less nonadherent subjects who self-discontinued treatment (6.3% vs. 28.1%; P <0.001) among participants in the intervention group compared to the control group. The disability due to MDD at 1-year follow-up was predicted by the absence of the psychoeducational intervention ( P =0.002) and by the MADRS total score at 6-month follow-up (OR 1.10; 95% CI 1.003-1.195; P =0.044). Qualitative data indicated the intervention was desired and appreciated by the participants, as well as being practical to implement in Slovakian clinical settings., Conclusion: The results suggest the psychoeducational intervention based on a modified Munoz's Depression Prevention Course has beneficial effects in adults with MDD recently discharged from a psychiatric hospitalization. The findings implicate the psychoeducational intervention may offer a new approach to the prevention of depressive relapses., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Breznoscakova, Pallayova, Izakova and Kralova.)

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent cause of dementia in elderly people worldwide. Many studies support the hypothesis that the inflammation of the CNS contributes to the neurodegeneration and disease progression. The integrin molecule α 4 β 1, also known as very late antigen 4 (VLA-4), belongs to adhesion molecules that activate the inflammatory process through the migration of immune cells into the CNS. Therefore, the objective of our study was to analyze the association between two polymorphisms located in the ITGA4 gene encoding the α 4 subunit of VLA-4 and the risk of AD. 104 late-onset AD patients and 206 control subjects from Slovakia were genotyped for ITGA4 gene SNP polymorphism rs113276800 (-269C/A) and rs1143676 (+3061A/G). The same study cohorts were also genotyped for the APOE - ε 4, which is a known genetic factor associated with increased risk of AD developing. ITGA4 polymorphism analysis revealed significantly higher frequency of the +3061AG carriers in AD group compared to the controls ( P ≤ 0.05). Following the APOE - ε 4 stratification of study groups, the association remained significant only in APOE - ε 4 noncarriers. Our study suggests a novel association of ITGA4 +3061A/G polymorphism with AD and its possible contribution to the disease pathology.