Publications by authors named "Toussaint A"

Gantry-free cone-beam CT (CBCT) allows for ultra-high-resolution (UHR) upper extremity imaging in a comfortable tableside position. The aim of this study was to assess the organ-specific radiation burden and the effect of dedicated lead shielding in the UHR-CBCT of the wrist and elbow. A modified Alderson-Rando phantom was scanned with the tableside UHR-CBCT mode of a twin robotic X-ray system employing identical scan parameters for wrist and elbow imaging.

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Background: Harmonizing core outcome domains allows for pooling data, comparing interventions, and streamlining research evaluation. At the same time clinicians require concise and feasible measures for routine practice. Considering the heterogeneity of post-COVID-19 condition, a biopsychosocial approach requires sufficient coverage of the psychosocial dimension with assessments.

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Objective: The present study investigated the associations between symptom-related expectations, self-management experiences and expectation framing on somatic symptom severity in university students in two conditions (positive or standard expectation framing). We hypothesised that symptom-related expectations are significantly associated with concurrent and subsequent levels of somatic symptom depending on expectation framing.

Design: A smartphone-based micro-longitudinal ecological momentary assessment study with randomisation to one of two expectation framing groups (positive vs negative) was carried out.

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Introduction: Coagulopathy following traumatic injury impairs stable blood clot formation and exacerbates mortality from hemorrhage. Understanding how these alterations impact blood clot stability is critical to improving resuscitation. Furthermore, the incorporation of machine learning algorithms to assess clinical markers, coagulation assays and biochemical assays allows us to define the contributions of these factors to mortality.

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Background: Despite the immense impact of Long COVID on public health and those affected, its aetiology remains poorly understood. Findings suggest that psychological factors such as depression contribute to symptom persistence alongside pathophysiological mechanisms, but knowledge of their relative importance is limited. This study aimed to synthesise the current evidence on psychological factors potentially associated with Long COVID and condition-relevant outcomes like quality of life.

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Purpose: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the psychosocial burdens of patients with ovarian cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Ovarian cancer patients answered a quantitative survey assessing their resilience (BRS) and quality of life (FACT-G7) as well as clinical (first- vs. ≥ second-line treatment), demographic (age < 65 vs.

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Regardless of their cause, persistent physical symptoms are distressing somatic complaints that occur on most days for at least several months. They are common in patients with somatic diseases, functional somatic disorders, mental disorders, and undiagnosed medical conditions and are often associated with significant impairment and medical costs. Despite their prevalence and impact, persistent physical symptoms are often overlooked in medical care.

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Background: Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) is characterized by excessive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors related to physical symptoms irrespective of their etiology. Estimates of SSD frequency assessed via self-report questionnaires range between 6.7% (general population) and 53% (specialized setting).

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Isolators play a critical role in protecting both the product and the environment, as well as the personnel involved in pharmaceutical manufacturing, analytical procedures, and sterility testing. Gloves attached to the windows and doors of the isolator are designed to facilitate intervention, testing, and safety. However, due to their inherent characteristics and vulnerability to puncture or loss of integrity, they are recognized as a significant potential source of contamination.

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Article Synopsis
  • Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a mental health condition marked by persistent physical symptoms and significant psychological distress, and this study aims to explore the risk factors and mechanisms that contribute to the persistence of these symptoms, particularly focusing on patients' expectations and comorbid conditions.
  • A 12-month cohort study will involve 240 SSD patients from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, analyzing two key predictors (expectations and comorbidity) alongside other known factors affecting symptom persistence through both macrolevel and microlevel assessments.
  • The study has received ethical approval and aims to share findings that could improve understanding of SSD and potentially inform better treatment approaches.
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Patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) suffer from a variety of physical complaints such as fatigue, itching or joint pain. Since little is known about the experience of symptoms and the corresponding coping strategies in this patient group, a qualitative study was conducted in which 15 patients with PBC were interviewed. The patients reported being burdened by numerous physical complaints, some of which require extensive coping and adaptation processes.

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Introduction: Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) has demonstrated up to 50% reduction in alcohol-related traumatic injury and is mandated by the American College of Surgeons for trauma center accreditation. While SBIRT effectiveness has been previously investigated, optimal implementation in the trauma setting has not. We sought to improve SBIRT compliance through integration of screening into a performance improvement checklist (PIC) deployed during morning report.

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Background: Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling cascade is a phylogenetically conserved stem cell regulator that is aberrantly expressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSLC) and leukemias. BMP signaling negatively regulates mitochondrial bioenergetics in lung cancer cells. The impact of inhibiting BMP signaling on mitochondrial bioenergetics and the effect this has on the survival of NSLC and leukemia cells are not known.

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Persistent physical symptoms (synonymous with persistent somatic symptoms) is an umbrella term for distressing somatic complaints that last several months or more, regardless of their cause. These symptoms are associated with substantial disability and represent a major burden for patients, health-care professionals, and society. Persistent physical symptoms can follow infections, injuries, medical diseases, stressful life events, or arise de novo.

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In a 10-month experimental study, we assessed the combined impact of warming and acidification on critical life stages of small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula). Using recently developed frameworks, we disentangled individual and group responses to two climate scenarios projected for 2100 (SSP2-4.5: Middle of the road and SSP5-8.

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Fungal polyketides are a large group of secondary metabolites, valuable due to their diverse spectrum of pharmacological activities. Polyketide biosynthesis in filamentous fungi presents some challenges: small yield and low-purity titers. To tackle these issues, we switched to the yeast , an easily cultivable heterologous host.

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Objective: The World Endometriosis Research Foundation established the Endometriosis Phenome and Biobanking Harmonisation Project (EPHect) to create standardized documentation tools (with common data elements) to facilitate the comparison and combination of data across different research sites and studies. In 2014, 4 data research standards were published: clinician-reported surgical data, patient-reported clinical data, and fluid and tissue biospecimen collection. Our current objective is to create an EPHect standard for the clinician-reported physical examination (EPHect-PE) for research studies.

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Background: Identifying factors that predict the course of persistent symptoms that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is a public health issue. Modifiable factors could be targeted in therapeutic interventions.

Objective: This prospective study based on the population-based CONSTANCES cohort examined whether the psychological burden associated with incident persistent symptoms (ie, that first occurred from March 2020) would predict having ≥1 persistent symptom 6-10 months later.

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Objective: Current diagnostic concepts of somatic symptom disorder (SSD) in DSM-5 and bodily distress disorder (BDD) in ICD-11 require certain psychological criteria, but researchers have called for further specification. Therefore, in a first step, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the current evidence on psychological factors associated with SSD/BDD and/or disorder-relevant clinical outcomes such as symptom severity and impairment.

Methods: Psychological factors were systematically searched using Pubmed, Cochrane Library and Psycinfo via EBSCO.

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Somatic symptoms are common in a wide range of medical conditions. In severe cases, they are associated with high individual and economic burden. To explore social inequalities in somatic symptom severity (SSS) and to identify social groups with highest SSS, we applied an intersectional research approach.

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Article Synopsis
  • Human activities have significantly changed bird species composition worldwide, leading to declines in biodiversity and an increase in potential extinctions.
  • Changes in species composition affect taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity, with unique patterns of extinctions at the regional level.
  • Non-native species do not adequately replace native ones, as they are similar morphologically and phylogenetically, contributing to heightened ecosystem vulnerability amid the current biodiversity crisis.
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Introduction: Based on two diagnostic accuracy studies in high-prevalence settings, two distinctly different combinations of cut-off values have been recommended to identify persons at risk for somatic symptom disorder (SSD) with the combination of the Patient-Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) and the Somatic Symptom Disorder-B Criteria Scale (SSD-12). We investigated whether the reported sensitivity and specificity of both recommended cut-off combinations are transferable to primary care.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 420 unselected adult primary care patients completed PHQ-15 and SSD-12.

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Background: Traumatic injury is a leading cause of death for those under the age of 45, with 40% occurring due to hemorrhage. Severe tissue injury and hypoperfusion lead to marked changes in coagulation, thereby preventing formation of a stable blood clot and increasing hemorrhage associated mortality.

Objectives: We aimed to quantify changes in clot formation and mechanics occurring after traumatic injury and the relationship to coagulation kinetics, and fibrinolysis.

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