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- 2019
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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- Nicholas, M. K., et al.
(author)
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Implementation of Early Intervention Protocol in Australia for 'High Risk' Injured Workers is Associated with Fewer Lost Work Days Over 2 Years Than Usual (Stepped) Care
- 2020
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In: Journal of occupational rehabilitation. - : Springer. - 1053-0487 .- 1573-3688. ; 30:1, s. 93-104
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: To evaluate whether a protocol for early intervention addressing the psychosocial risk factors for delayed return to work in workers with soft tissue injuries would achieve better long-term outcomes than usual (stepped) care.Methods: The study used a controlled, non-randomised prospective design to compare two case management approaches. For the intervention condition, workers screened within 1-3 weeks of injury as being at high risk of delayed returned to work by the Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire-short version (ÖMPSQ-SF) were offered psychological assessment and a comprehensive protocol to address the identified obstacles for return to work. Similarly identified injured workers in the control condition were managed under usual (stepped) care arrangements.Results: At 2-year follow-up, the mean lost work days for the Intervention group was less than half that of the usual care group, their claim costs were 30% lower, as was the growth trajectory of their costs after 11 months.Conclusions: The findings supported the hypothesis that brief psychological risk factor screening, combined with a protocol for active collaboration between key stakeholders to address identified psychological and workplace factors for delayed return to work, can achieve better return on investment than usual (stepped) care.
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- Nicholas, M. K., et al.
(author)
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Predicting Return to Work in a Heterogeneous Sample of Recently Injured Workers Using the Brief ÖMPSQ-SF
- 2019
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In: Journal of occupational rehabilitation. - : Springer. - 1053-0487 .- 1573-3688. ; 29:2, s. 295-302
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: (1) to examine the ability of the Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire-short version (ÖMPSQ-SF) to predict time to return to pre-injury work duties (PID) following a work-related soft tissue injury (regardless of body location); and (2) to examine the appropriateness of 50/100 as a suitable cut-off score for case identification.Methods: Injured workers (IW) from six public hospitals in Sydney, Australia, who had taken medically-sanctioned time off work due to their injury, were recruited by insurance case managers within 5-15 days of their injury. Eligible participants (N = 213 in total) were administered the ÖMPSQ-SF over the telephone by the case manager. For objective (1) Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to predict days to return to PID using the ÖMPSQ-SF. For objective (2) receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine the ÖMPSQ-SF total score that optimises sensitivity and specificity in detecting whether or not participants had returned to PID within 2-7 weeks.Results: The total ÖMPSQ-SF score significantly predicted number of days to return to PID, such that for every 1-point increase in the total ÖMPSQ-SF score the predicted chance of returning to work reduced by 4% (i.e., hazard ratio = 0.96), p < 0.001. Sensitivity and specificity for the ROC analysis comparing ÖMPSQ-SF total score to return to PID within 2-7 weeks suggested 48 as the optimal cut off (sensitivity = 0.65, specificity = 0.79).Conclusion: The results provide strong support for the use of the ÖMPSQ-SF in an applied setting for identifying those IW likely to have delayed RTW when administered within 15 days of the injury. While a score of 48/100 was the optimal cut point for sensitivity and specificity, pragmatically, 50/100 should be acceptable as a cut-off in future studies of this type.
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- Ebrahimi-Fakhari, Darius, et al.
(author)
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Defining the clinical, molecular and imaging spectrum of adaptor protein complex 4-associated hereditary spastic paraplegia
- 2020
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In: Brain. - OXFORD ENGLAND : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-8950 .- 1460-2156. ; 143:10, s. 2929-2944
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Bi-allelic loss-of-function variants in genes that encode subunits of the adaptor protein complex 4 (AP-4) lead to prototypical yet poorly understood forms of childhood-onset and complex hereditary spastic paraplegia: SPG47 (AP4B1), SPG50 (AP4M1), SPG51 (AP4E1) and SPG52 (AP4S1). Here, we report a detailed cross-sectional analysis of clinical, imaging and molecular data of 156 patients from 101 families. Enrolled patients were of diverse ethnic backgrounds and covered a wide age range (1.0-49.3 years). While the mean age at symptom onset was 0.8 +/- 0.6 years [standard deviation (SD), range 0.2-5.0], the mean age at diagnosis was 10.2 +/- 8.5 years (SD, range 0.1-46.3). We define a set of core features: early-onset developmental delay with delayed motor milestones and significant speech delay (50% non-verbal); intellectual disability in the moderate to severe range; mild hypotonia in infancy followed by spastic diplegia (mean age: 8.4 +/- 5.1 years, SD) and later tetraplegia (mean age: 16.1 +/- 9.8 years, SD); postnatal microcephaly (83%); foot deformities (69%); and epilepsy (66%) that is intractable in a subset. At last follow-up, 36% ambulated with assistance (mean age: 8.9 +/- 6.4 years, SD) and 54% were wheelchair-dependent (mean age: 13.4 +/- 9.8 years, SD). Episodes of stereotypic laughing, possibly consistent with a pseudobulbar affect, were found in 56% of patients. Key features on neuroimaging include a thin corpus callosum (90%), ventriculomegaly (65%) often with colpocephaly, and periventricular white-matter signal abnormalities (68%). Iron deposition and polymicrogyria were found in a subset of patients. AP4B1-associated SPG47 and AP4M1-associated SPG50 accounted for the majority of cases. About two-thirds of patients were born to consanguineous parents, and 82% carried homozygous variants. Over 70 unique variants were present, the majority of which are frameshift or nonsense mutations. To track disease progression across the age spectrum, we defined the relationship between disease severity as measured by several rating scales and disease duration. We found that the presence of epilepsy, which manifested before the age of 3 years in the majority of patients, was associated with worse motor outcomes. Exploring genotype-phenotype correlations, we found that disease severity and major phenotypes were equally distributed among the four subtypes, establishing that SPG47, SPG50, SPG51 and SPG52 share a common phenotype, an 'AP-4 deficiency syndrome'. By delineating the core clinical, imaging, and molecular features of AP-4-associated hereditary spastic paraplegia across the age spectrum our results will facilitate early diagnosis, enable counselling and anticipatory guidance of affected families and help define endpoints for future interventional trials.
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- Van Loon, Anne F., et al.
(author)
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Drought in a human-modified world : reframing drought definitions, understanding, and analysis approaches
- 2016
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In: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1027-5606 .- 1607-7938. ; 20:9, s. 3631-3650
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In the current human-modified world, or Anthropocene, the state of water stores and fluxes has become dependent on human as well as natural processes. Water deficits (or droughts) are the result of a complex interaction between meteorological anomalies, land surface processes, and human inflows, outflows, and storage changes. Our current inability to adequately analyse and manage drought in many places points to gaps in our understanding and to inadequate data and tools. The Anthropocene requires a new framework for drought definitions and research. Drought definitions need to be revisited to explicitly include human processes driving and modifying soil moisture drought and hydrological drought development. We give recommendations for robust drought definitions to clarify timescales of drought and prevent confusion with related terms such as water scarcity and overexploitation. Additionally, our understanding and analysis of drought need to move from single driver to multiple drivers and from uni-directional to multi-directional. We identify research gaps and propose analysis approaches on (1) drivers, (2) modifiers, (3) impacts, (4) feedbacks, and (5) changing the baseline of drought in the Anthropocene. The most pressing research questions are related to the attribution of drought to its causes, to linking drought impacts to drought characteristics, and to societal adaptation and responses to drought. Example questions include (i) What are the dominant drivers of drought in different parts of the world? (ii) How do human modifications of drought enhance or alleviate drought severity? (iii) How do impacts of drought depend on the physical characteristics of drought vs. the vulnerability of people or the environment? (iv) To what extent are physical and human drought processes coupled, and can feedback loops be identified and altered to lessen or mitigate drought? (v) How should we adapt our drought analysis to accommodate changes in the normal situation (i.e. what are considered normal or reference conditions) over time? Answering these questions requires exploration of qualitative and quantitative data as well as mixed modelling approaches. The challenges related to drought research and management in the Anthropocene are not unique to drought, but do require urgent attention. We give recommendations drawn from the fields of flood research, ecology, water management, and water resources studies. The framework presented here provides a holistic view on drought in the Anthropocene, which will help improve management strategies for mitigating the severity and reducing the impacts of droughts in future.
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- Augustinus, Simone, et al.
(author)
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Ideal Outcome After Pancreatoduodenectomy : A Transatlantic Evaluation of a Harmonized Composite Outcome Measure
- 2023
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In: Annals of Surgery. - 0003-4932. ; 278:5, s. 740-747
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: The aim of this study is to define and assess Ideal Outcome in the national or multicenter registries of North America, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Background: Assessing outcomes after pancreatoduodenectomy among centers and countries requires a broad evaluation that cannot be captured by a single parameter. Previously, 2 composite outcome measures (textbook outcome and optimal pancreatic surgery) for pancreatoduodenectomy have been described from Europe and the United States. These composites were harmonized into ideal outcome (IO). Methods: This analysis is a transatlantic retrospective study (2018-2020) of patients after pancreatoduodenectomy within the registries from North America, Germany, The Netherlands, and Sweden. After 3 consensus meetings, IO for pancreatoduodenectomy was defined as the absence of all 6 parameters: (1) in-hospital mortality, (2) severe complications - Clavien-Dindo ≥3, (3) postoperative pancreatic fistula - International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS) grade B/C, (4) reoperation, (5) hospital stay >75th percentile, and (6) readmission. Outcomes were evaluated using relative largest difference (RLD) and absolute largest difference (ALD), and multivariate regression models. Results: Overall, 21,036 patients after pancreatoduodenectomy were included, of whom 11,194 (54%) reached IO. The rate of IO varied between 55% in North America, 53% in Germany, 52% in The Netherlands, and 54% in Sweden (RLD: 1.1, ALD: 3%, P<0.001). Individual components varied with an ALD of 2% length of stay, 4% for in-hospital mortality, 12% severe complications, 10% postoperative pancreatic fistula, 11% reoperation, and 9% readmission. Age, sex, absence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, body mass index, performance status, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, biliary drainage, absence of vascular resection, and histologic diagnosis were associated with IO. In the subgroup of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, country, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy also was associated with improved IO. Conclusions: The newly developed composite outcome measure "Ideal Outcome"can be used for auditing and comparing outcomes after pancreatoduodenectomy. The observed differences can be used to guide collaborative initiatives to further improve the outcomes of pancreatic surgery.
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- Bermon, Stephane, et al.
(author)
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Consensus Statement Immunonutrition and Exercise.
- 2017
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In: Exercise immunology review. - 1077-5552. ; 23, s. 8-50
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this consensus statement on immunonutrition and exercise, a panel of knowledgeable contributors from across the globe provides a consensus of updated science, including the background, the aspects for which a consensus actually exists, the controversies and, when possible, suggested directions for future research.
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- Blösch, Günter, et al.
(author)
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Twenty-three unsolved problems in hydrology (UPH) - a community perspective
- 2019
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In: Hydrological Sciences Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0262-6667 .- 2150-3435. ; 64:10, s. 1141-1158
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper is the outcome of a community initiative to identify major unsolved scientific problems in hydrology motivated by a need for stronger harmonisation of research efforts. The procedure involved a public consultation through online media, followed by two workshops through which a large number of potential science questions were collated, prioritised, and synthesised. In spite of the diversity of the participants (230 scientists in total), the process revealed much about community priorities and the state of our science: a preference for continuity in research questions rather than radical departures or redirections from past and current work. Questions remain focused on the process-based understanding of hydrological variability and causality at all space and time scales. Increased attention to environmental change drives a new emphasis on understanding how change propagates across interfaces within the hydrological system and across disciplinary boundaries. In particular, the expansion of the human footprint raises a new set of questions related to human interactions with nature and water cycle feedbacks in the context of complex water management problems. We hope that this reflection and synthesis of the 23 unsolved problems in hydrology will help guide research efforts for some years to come.
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- Gleeson, Elizabeth M., et al.
(author)
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Failure to Rescue After Pancreatoduodenectomy : A Transatlantic Analysis
- 2021
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In: Annals of Surgery. - 1528-1140. ; 274:3, s. 459-466
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: This analysis aimed to compare failure to rescue (FTR) after pancreatoduodenectomy across the Atlantic. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: FTR, or mortality after development of a major complication, is a quality metric originally created to compare hospital results. FTR has been studied in North American and Northern European patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). However, a direct comparison of FTR after PD between North America and Northern Europe has not been performed. METHODS: Patients who underwent PD in North America, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany (GAPASURG dataset) were identified from their respective registries (2014-17). Patients who developed a major complication defined as Clavien-Dindo ≥3 or developed a grade B/C postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) were included. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables were compared between patients with and without FTR. Variables significant on univariable analysis were entered into a logistic regression for FTR. RESULTS: Major complications occurred in 6188 of 22,983 patients (26.9%) after PD, and 504 (8.1%) patients had FTR. North American and Northern European patients with complications differed, and rates of FTR were lower in North America (5.4% vs 12%, P < 0.001). Fourteen factors from univariable analysis contributing to differences in patients who developed FTR were included in a logistic regression. On multivariable analysis, factors independently associated with FTR were age, American Society of Anesthesiology ≥3, Northern Europe, POPF, organ failure, life-threatening complication, nonradiologic intervention, and reoperation. CONCLUSIONS: Older patients with severe systemic diseases are more difficult to rescue. Failure to rescue is more common in Northern Europe than North America. In stable patients, management of complications by interventional radiology is preferred over reoperation.
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- Grema, Haruna M., et al.
(author)
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The Formation of Highly Positive δ34S Values in Late Devonian Mudstones: Microscale Analysis of Pyrite (δ34S) and Barite (δ34S, δ18O) in the Canol Formation (Selwyn Basin, Canada)
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Earth Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-6463. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The sulfur isotope composition of pyrite in marine sedimentary rocks is often difficult to interpret due to a lack of precise isotopic constraints for coeval sulfate. This study examines pyrite and barite in the Late Devonian Canol Formation (Selwyn Basin, Canada), which provides an archive of δ34S and δ18O values during diagenesis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been combined with microscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis (n = 1,032) of pyrite (δ34S) and barite (δ34S and δ18O) on samples collected from nine stratigraphic sections of the Canol Formation. Two paragenetic stages of pyrite and barite formation have been distinguished, both replaced by barium carbonate and feldspar. The δ34Sbarite and δ18Obarite values from all sections overlap, between +37.1‰ and +67.9‰ (median = +45.7‰) and +8.8‰ and +23.9‰ (median = +20.0‰), respectively. Barite morphologies and isotopic values are consistent with precipitation from diagenetically modified porewater sulfate (sulfate resupply << sulfate depletion) during early diagenesis. The two pyrite generations (Py-1 and Py-2) preserve distinct textures and end-member isotopic records. There is a large offset from coeval Late Devonian seawater sulfate in the δ34Spyrite values of framboidal pyrite (-29.4‰ to -9.3‰), consistent with dissimilatory microbial sulfate reduction (MSR) during early diagenesis. The Py-2 is in textural equilibrium with barite generation 2 (Brt-2) and records a broad range of more positive δ34SPy-2 values (+9.4‰ to + 44.5‰). The distinctive highly positive δ34Spyrite values developed from sulfate limited conditions around the sulfate methane transition zone (SMTZ). We propose that a combination of factors, including low sulfate concentrations, MSR, and sulfate reduction coupled to anaerobic oxidation of methane (SR-AOM), led to the formation of highly positive δ34Spyrite and δ34Sbarite values in the Canol Formation. The presence of highly positive δ34Spyrite values in other Late Devonian sedimentary units indicate that diagenetic pyrite formation at the SMTZ may be a more general feature of other Lower Paleozoic basins.
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- Jasechko, S., et al.
(author)
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Late-glacial to late-Holocene shifts in global precipitation delta O-18
- 2015
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In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 11:10, s. 1375-1393
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Reconstructions of Quaternary climate are often based on the isotopic content of paleo-precipitation preserved in proxy records. While many paleo-precipitation isotope records are available, few studies have synthesized these dispersed records to explore spatial patterns of late-glacial precipitation delta O-18. Here we present a synthesis of 86 globally distributed groundwater (n = 59), cave calcite (n = 15) and ice core (n = 12) isotope records spanning the late-glacial (defined as similar to 50 000 to similar to 20 000 years ago) to the late-Holocene (within the past similar to 5000 years). We show that precipitation delta O-18 changes from the late-glacial to the late-Holocene range from -7.1% (delta O-18(late-Holocene) > delta O-18(late-glacial)) to + 1.7% (delta O-18(late-glacial) > delta O-18(late-Holocene)), with the majority (77 %) of records having lower late-glacial delta O-18 than late-Holocene delta O-18 values. High-magnitude, negative precipitation delta O-18 shifts are common at high latitudes, high altitudes and continental interiors (delta O-18(late-Holocene) > delta O-18(late-glacial) by more than 3 %). Conversely, low-magnitude, positive precipitation delta O-18 shifts are concentrated along tropical and subtropical coasts (delta O-18(late-glacial) > delta O-18(late-Holocene) by less than 2 %). Broad, global patterns of late-glacial to late-Holocene precipitation delta O-18 shifts suggest that stronger-than-modern isotopic distillation of air masses prevailed during the late-glacial, likely impacted by larger global temperature differences between the tropics and the poles. Further, to test how well general circulation models reproduce global precipitation delta O-18 shifts, we compiled simulated precipitation delta O-18 shifts from five isotope-enabled general circulation models simulated under recent and last glacial maximum climate states. Climate simulations generally show better intermodel and model-measurement agreement in temperate regions than in the tropics, highlighting a need for further research to better understand how inter-model spread in convective rainout, seawater delta O-18 and glacial topography parameterizations impact simulated precipitation delta O-18. Future research on paleo-precipitation delta O-18 records can use the global maps of measured and simulated late-glacial precipitation isotope compositions to target and prioritize field sites.
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- Latenstein, Anouk E.J., et al.
(author)
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The use and clinical outcome of total pancreatectomy in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden
- 2021
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In: Surgery (United States). - : Elsevier BV. - 0039-6060. ; 170:2, s. 563-570
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Total pancreatectomy has high morbidity and mortality and differences among countries are currently unknown. This study compared the use and postoperative outcomes of total pancreatectomy among 4 Western countries. Methods: Patients who underwent one-stage total pancreatectomy were included from registries in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden (2014–2018). Use of total pancreatectomy was assessed by calculating the ratio total pancreatectomy to pancreatoduodenectomy. Primary outcomes were major morbidity (Clavien Dindo ≥3) and in-hospital mortality. Predictors for the primary outcomes were assessed in multivariable logistic regression analyses. Sensitivity analysis assessed the impact of volume (low-volume <40 or high-volume ≥40 pancreatoduodenectomies annually; data available for the Netherlands and Germany). Results: In total, 1,579 patients underwent one-stage total pancreatectomy. The relative use of total pancreatectomy to pancreatoduodenectomy varied up to fivefold (United States 0.03, Germany 0.15, the Netherlands 0.03, and Sweden 0.15; P <.001). Both the indication and several baseline characteristics differed significantly among countries. Major morbidity occurred in 423 patients (26.8%) and differed (22.3%, 34.9%, 38.3%, and 15.9%, respectively; P <.001). In-hospital mortality occurred in 85 patients (5.4%) and also differed (1.8%, 10.2%, 10.8%, 1.9%, respectively; P <.001). Country, age ≥75, and vascular resection were predictors for in-hospital mortality. In-hospital mortality was lower in high-volume centers in the Netherlands (4.9% vs 23.1%; P =.002), but not in Germany (9.8% vs 10.6%; P =.733). Conclusion: Considerable differences in the use of total pancreatectomy, patient characteristics, and postoperative outcome were noted among 4 Western countries with better outcomes in the United States and Sweden. These large, yet unexplained, differences require further research to ultimately improve patient outcome.
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