Lynggaard Friedman (fangbait9)
Multiple psychological factors of suicidal behaviour have been identified so far; however, little is known about state-dependent alterations and the interplay of the most prominent components in a suicidal crisis. Thus, the combined effect of particular personality characteristics and decision-making performance was observed within individuals who recently attempted suicide during a major depressive episode. Fifty-nine medication-free major depressed patients with a recent suicide attempt (within 72 h) and forty-five healthy control individuals were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Temperament and character factors, impulsivity and decision-making performance were assessed. Statistical analyses aimed to explore between-group differences and the most powerful contributors to suicidal behaviour during a depressive episode. Decision-making and personality differences (i.e. impulsivity, harm avoidance, self-directedness, cooperativeness and transcendence) were observed between the patient and the conase of major depressed participants with a recent suicide attempt; meaning that these individuals can be described with the myopia for future consequences, a pessimistic, anxious temperament; and a character component resulting in the experience of aimlessness and helplessness. Further studies that use a within-subject design should identify and confirm additional characteristics specific to the suicidal mind. The efficacy and cost-effectiveness of prophylactic thrombolytic locks in hemodialysis patients at high-risk of thrombotic dialysis catheter dysfunction is uncertain. We investigated this question in a double-blinded randomized controlled study. Prevalent hemodialysis patients from 8 Belgian hemodialysis units, with ≥2 separate episodes of thrombotic dysfunction of their tunneled cuffed catheter during the 6 months before inclusion, were randomized to either taurolidine heparin locks thrice weekly (control arm) or the same locks twice a week combined with taurolidine urokinase locks once a week before the longest interval without HD (TaurolockU arm). The primary efficacy outcome was the incidence rate of catheter thrombotic dysfunction requiring thrombolytic locks to restore function. 68 hemodialysis patients (32 controls, 36 urokinase) were followed during 9875 catheter days between May 2015 and June 2017. Incidence rate of thrombotic catheter dysfunction was 4.8 in TaurolockU vs 12.1/1000 catheter days in control group (rate ratio 0.39; 95%CI 0.23-0.64). 15/36 (42%) catheters in the treatment group required at least one therapeutic urokinase lock vs 23/32 (72%) in the control group (P = 0.012). The two groups did not differ significantly in catheter-related bloodstream infection and combined cost of prophylactic and therapeutic catheter locks. The TaurolockU group had a numerically higher number of episodes of refractory thrombosis. Prophylactic use of urokinase locks is highly effective in reducing the number of thrombotic catheter dysfunctions in catheters with a history of recurring dysfunction. Prophylactic use of urokinase locks did not reduce the overall costs associated with catheter locks and was associated with a numerically higher number of episodes of refractory thrombosis. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT02036255. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT02036255.The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has emerged as one of the most dramatic health crises of recent decades. This paper treats mainstream news about the current pandemic as a valuable entry point for analyzing the relationship between science and politics in the public sphere, where the outbreak must be both understood and confronted through appropriate public-health policy decisions. In doing so, the paper aims to examine which actors, institutions, and experts dominate the SARS-CoV-2 media narratives, with particular attention to the roles of political, medical, and scientific actors