Contextual Effects on Hopelessness in the Second Half of the Life

Depression and suicidal ideation are tightly linked to the lack of hope in the future. Hopelessness begins with the occurrence of negative life events and develops through the perception that negative outcomes are stable and pervasive. Most of the research has investigated individual factors predicting hopelessness. However, other studies have shown that the social context may also play an important role: disadvantaged contexts exacerbate the feeling that future is unreachable and hopeless. In this study we investigate the role of shared emotions (emotional climates) on the sense of hopelessness during the second half of the life. Emotional climates have been defined as the emotional relationships constructed between members of a society and describe the quality of the environment within a particular community. We present results of multilevel analyses using data from the NCCR-LIVES769 project «Vulnerability and growth», the Swiss Household Panel and official statistics, that explore the relationship between characteristics of the Swiss cantons and hopelessness. Although hopelessness is mainly affected by individual factors as life events and personality, results show that canton socio-economic conditions and climates of optimism or pessimism have an effect on the individual perception of hopelessness. Individuals are more likely to feel hopeless after having experienced critical events (i.e., loss of the partner in the late life) in cantons with high rates of unemployment and with a high share of negative emotions. On the contrary, positive emotional climates play a protective role against hopelessness.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Switzerland: a comprehensive quality control report on centre effect.

Interest groups advocate centre-specific outcome data as a useful tool for patients in choosing a hospital for their treatment and for decision-making by politicians and the insurance industry. Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) requires significant infrastructure and represents a cost-intensive procedure. It therefore qualifies as a prime target for such a policy. We made use of the comprehensive database of the Swiss Blood Stem Cells Transplant Group (SBST) to evaluate potential use of mortality rates. Nine institutions reported a total of 4717 HSCT - 1427 allogeneic (30.3%), 3290 autologous (69.7%) - in 3808 patients between the years 1997 and 2008. Data were analysed for survival- and transplantation-related mortality (TRM) at day 100 and at 5 years. The data showed marked and significant differences between centres in unadjusted analyses. These differences were absent or marginal when the results were adjusted for disease, year of transplant and the EBMT risk score (a score incorporating patient age, disease stage, time interval between diagnosis and transplantation, and, for allogeneic transplants, donor type and donor-recipient gender combination) in a multivariable analysis. These data indicate comparable quality among centres in Switzerland. They show that comparison of crude centre-specific outcome data without adjustment for the patient mix may be misleading. Mandatory data collection and systematic review of all cases within a comprehensive quality management system might, in contrast, serve as a model to ascertain the quality of other cost-intensive therapies in Switzerland.

VPS35 mutations in Parkinson disease.

The identification of genetic causes for Mendelian disorders has been based on the collection of multi-incident families, linkage analysis, and sequencing of genes in candidate intervals. This study describes the application of next-generation sequencing technologies to a Swiss kindred presenting with autosomal-dominant, late-onset Parkinson disease (PD). The family has tremor-predominant dopa-responsive parkinsonism with a mean onset of 50.6 ± 7.3 years. Exome analysis suggests that an aspartic-acid-to-asparagine mutation within vacuolar protein sorting 35 (VPS35 c.1858G>A; p.Asp620Asn) is the genetic determinant of disease. VPS35 is a central component of the retromer cargo-recognition complex, is critical for endosome-trans-golgi trafficking and membrane-protein recycling, and is evolutionarily highly conserved. VPS35 c.1858G>A was found in all affected members of the Swiss kindred and in three more families and one patient with sporadic PD, but it was not observed in 3,309 controls. Further sequencing of familial affected probands revealed only one other missense variant, VPS35 c.946C>T; (p.Pro316Ser), in a pedigree with one unaffected and two affected carriers, and thus the pathogenicity of this mutation remains uncertain. Retromer-mediated sorting and transport is best characterized for acid hydrolase receptors. However, the complex has many types of cargo and is involved in a diverse array of biologic pathways from developmental Wnt signaling to lysosome biogenesis. Our study implicates disruption of VPS35 and retromer-mediated trans-membrane protein sorting, rescue, and recycling in the neurodegenerative process leading to PD.

Parental monitoring: an easy way to decrease adolescent substance use?

Objective: To examine whether the level of parental monitoring is associated with substance use among Swiss adolescents, and to assess whether this effect remains when these adolescents have consuming peers. Methods: Nationally representative sample from the Swiss participation in the 2007 European School Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) survey, which included 7611 adolescents issued from public schools (8th-10th grades). Four levels of parental control were created and four substances (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and ecstasy) were analyzed. All significant variables at the bivariate level were included in the multivariate analysis. Results: Most adolescents had a high level of parental monitoring and that was associated with younger age, being female, high socioeconomic status, intact family structure and a satisfactory relationship with mother, father and peers. Globally, substance use decreased as parental monitoring increased and high parental monitoring decreased having consuming peers. Results remained essentially the same when consuming peers were added in the analysis. Conclusions: Parental monitoring has positive effects on adolescent substance use with a reduction of consumption and a lower association with consuming peers, which seems to protect adolescents against their potential negative influence. Encouraging parents to monitor their adolescents' activities and friendships by establishing rules about what is allowed or not are simple ways to limit the negative influence of consuming peers on adolescent substance use.

Note préliminaire sur la structure, la phénologie et le régime alimentaire d'une super-colonie de formica lugubris zett

Formica lugubris apparaît comme une espèce hautement polycalique dans le Jura suisse et forme des super-colonies. La super-colonie étudiée comprend environ 1200 nids répartis sur 70 hectares. L'étude détaillée de 12 hectares permet de définir 4 types de nids:les nids principaux, secondaires, saisonniers etcommençants, ainsi que trois sortes de voies de communication:les routes de liaisons permanentes visibles sur le terrain, les pistes de liaisons non-permanentes non marquées sur le terrain etles chemins d'approvisionnement permanents marqués dans le terrain. L'auteur présente la phénologie deF. lugubris qui est fortement influencée par le climat de cette région avec une période moyenne d'activité de 150 jours. D'autre part, les premières données sur le régime alimentaire (analyse des proies récoltées par les fourmis) diffèrent considérablement des données connues pour les autres espèces du groupe rufa, notamment par le nombre élevé de pucerons, d'où l'idée d'une régulation des populations de pucerons par les fourmis. Enfin l'auteur aborde le problème de la faible densité de l'avifaune en relation avec les fourmis. Il semble que le climat et les ressources alimentaires conduisent les fourmis àune nouvelle stratégie écologique qui s'exprimerait par la création de super-colonies. Formica lugubris appears as a highly polycalic species in the Swiss Jura and creates super-colonies. The super-colony studied possesses about 1200 nests on about 70 hectares. The detailed study of 12 hectares allows the discrimination of 4 types of nests:the main nests, the secondary nests, the seasonal nests andthe starting nests, as well as 3 types of ant tracks:the constant connection routes visible on the soil, thenon-constant connection tracks not marked on the soil andthe constant foraging routes marked on the soil. The author presents the phenology ofF. lugubris who is strongly influenced by the climate of the region with a mean activity period of about 150 days. On the other hand, the first results about diet (analysis of the preys collected by the ants) differ considerably from the wellknown data for the others species of the rufa group, especially by the high number of aphids, which may be inferred the notion of a regulation of aphids population by the ants. Finally the author approaches the problem of the low density of avifauna in relation to the ants. It seems that climate and food resources lead the ants toa new ecological strategy which would express itself by the creation of super-colonies.

Réflexions sur les céramiques fines en Gaule interne de La Tène finale au début du Haut-Empire : comparaisons d'ensembles et essai de caractérisation des phénomènes d'acculturation

Le concept de romanisation ne revêt d'utilité que s'il peut être qualifié, et donc analysé en différents « niveaux », afin de comparer les rythmes et les formes du phénomène dans les régions de l'Empire. Avant même de chercher à tenir un discours global sur la romanisation, il faut donc en étudier les multiples aspects de manière spécifique. C'est dans ce cadre que s'inscrit cette thèse de doctorat dont le but est de quantifier et de qualifier l'acculturation des céramiques fines en Gaule interne (200 BC - 50 AD). Fondée sur un corpus de quelques 130 ensembles, provenant de 21 sites urbains localisés entre le centre ouest de la France, l'Auvergne, le Plateau suisse et le Luxembourg, cette étude se caractérise par la mise en place de nouvelles approches méthodologiques, s'appuyant sur le calcul d'un « indice de romanisation » (quantifiant la romanisation d'un ensemble sur une échelle de 1 à 100) et sur l'analyse des modalités du phénomène. L'examen diachronique et cartographique des résultats obtenus montrant de fortes disparités dans les processus d'acculturation des céramiques fines, des niveaux de romanisation ont pu être définis, dont le principal intérêt est d'ouvrir la comparaison avec les autres aspects de l'acculturation des Gaules (instrumentum culinaire, technique de construction, romanisation de l'anthroponymie...). The concept of Romanisation can only be considered useful if it can be qualified and analysed at different levels in order to compare the acculturation rates, frequency and form of the phenomenon among the regions in the Empire. But before an overview of Romanisation can be considered, its multiple aspects must be examined in a specific manner. Among the French speaking areas, it is only recently that research concerning Gaulish and Roman periods has risked expanding the scope to a supra regional scale. Against this background, the purpose of my doctoral thesis is to examine the qualitative and quantitative aspects of acculturation among Gaulish fine wares (200 BCE - 50 CE). Based on a corpus of 130 assemblages from 21 urban sites from the western centre of France, Auvergne, the Swiss plateau and Luxembourg, the study is characterised by new methodological techniques relying on the calculation of a 'Romanisation index' (quantifying the level of Romanisation of an assemblage on a scale of 1 to 100) and the analysis of the methods of the phenomenon. The diachronic and cartographic examination of the results obtained showed large disparities in the acculturation processes concerning fine wares. The level of Romanisation could be defined, thus allowing a comparison with other aspects of the acculturation process among other aspects of Gaulish culture such as tools, cuisine, construction techniques and Romanisation of anthroponyms.

The influence of the Internet on immunology education.

The potential of the Internet as a medium through which to teach basic and applied immunology lies in the ability to illustrate complex concepts in new ways for audiences that are diverse and often geographically dispersed. This article explores two collaborative Internet-based learning projects (also known as e-learning projects) that are under development: Immunology Online, which will present an Internet-based curriculum in basic and clinical immunology to Swiss undergraduate and graduate students across five campuses; and the OCTAVE project, which will offer online training to an international cadre of new investigators, the members of which are carrying out clinical trials of vaccines against HIV infection.

A methodology to estimate the potential to move inpatient to one day surgery.

BACKGROUND: The proportion of surgery performed as a day case varies greatly between countries. Low rates suggest a large growth potential in many countries. Measuring the potential development of one day surgery should be grounded on a comprehensive list of eligible procedures, based on a priori criteria, independent of local practices. We propose an algorithmic method, using only routinely available hospital data to identify surgical hospitalizations that could have been performed as one day treatment. METHODS: Moving inpatient surgery to one day surgery was considered feasible if at least one surgical intervention was eligible for one day surgery and if none of the following criteria were present: intervention or affection requiring an inpatient stay, patient transferred or died, and length of stay greater than four days. The eligibility of a procedure to be treated as a day case was mainly established on three a priori criteria: surgical access (endoscopic or not), the invasiveness of the procedure and the size of the operated organ. Few overrides of these criteria occurred when procedures were associated with risk of immediate complications, slow physiological recovery or pain treatment requiring hospital infrastructure. The algorithm was applied to a random sample of one million inpatient US stays and more than 600 thousand Swiss inpatient stays, in the year 2002. RESULTS: The validity of our method was demonstrated by the few discrepancies between the a priori criteria based list of eligible procedures, and a state list used for reimbursement purposes, the low proportion of hospitalizations eligible for one day care found in the US sample (4.9 versus 19.4% in the Swiss sample), and the distribution of the elective procedures found eligible in Swiss hospitals, well supported by the literature. There were large variations of the proportion of candidates for one day surgery among elective surgical hospitalizations between Swiss hospitals (3 to 45.3%). CONCLUSION: The proposed approach allows the monitoring of the proportion of inpatient stay candidates for one day surgery. It could be used for infrastructure planning, resources negotiation and the surveillance of appropriate resource utilization.

Politique fédérale des agglomérations dans les domaines des transports et de l'urbanisation

La croissance de la population, de l'économie et des transports individuels motorisés, particulièrement depuis la seconde moitié du 20ème siècle, ont notamment comme corollaire le développement urbanistique hors des frontières de la ville-centre et la formation des agglomérations. Ces zones urbaines sont stratégiques puisqu'elles accueillent une part toujours plus importante de la population et représentent le moteur de l'économie nationale. Toutefois, le développement des agglomérations et de la mobilité individuelle motorisée ne va pas sans poser de nombreux problèmes, dont la résolution nécessite de les aborder à l'échelle de l'agglomération, en coordonnant les transports et l'urbanisation. Notre système politique fédéral se définit notamment par une répartition des compétences dans une multitude de domaines entre les trois niveaux institutionnels de la Confédération, des cantons et des communes. Cette réalité est particulièrement vraie en matière d'aménagement du territoire. Il est à noter que les plus petites unités institutionnelles (les communes) conservent encore aujourd'hui des prérogatives importantes dans ce domaine. Au début des années 2000, la Confédération a développé une politique publique en faveur de ces zones stratégiques. Au moyen du fonds d'infrastructure, la politique fédérale des agglomérations dans les domaines des transports et de l'urbanisation est une politique publique incitative. Le dépôt, par les agglomérations, d'un projet respectant un cahier des charges précis et proposant des mesures de coordination entre les transports et l'urbanisation, permet d'obtenir un cofinancement fédéral du transport d'agglomération. Parmi les projets d'agglomération de première génération présentés à la Confédération, certains ont obtenu le cofinancement, d'autres pas. Le dimensionnement trop généreux des surfaces à bâtir fut notamment un facteur d'échec du projet d'agglomération de Fribourg, alors que la capacité à développer l'urbanisation à l'intérieur de l'agglomération fut un facteur de succès du projet Lausanne-Morges. L'analyse des projets d'agglomération Riviera et Monthey-Aigle, qui sont des projets de deuxième génération, confrontée à des entretiens avec des urbanistes et des responsables politiques, permet d'identifier leurs faiblesses et leurs atouts. Le projet d'agglomération Riviera présente une complémentarité des territoires et un grand potentiel de développement, mais aussi un manque de cohésion des partenaires du projet. Quant au projet Monthey-Aigle, il existe une réelle volonté politique de trouver des solutions aux conflits, mais les possibilités de développer les transports publics sont faibles. Dans le cadre de l'examen fédéral de ces deux projets d'agglomération, les éléments précités pourraient être des facteurs d'échec ou de succès. La politique publique fédérale invite les agglomérations à penser le développement de leurs transports et de leur urbanisation à un niveau global. La prise de hauteur et la coordination politique que cela suppose sont à même d'améliorer le lieu de vie des trois-quarts de la population suisse et de préserver le moteur de l'économie nationale. The growth of population, economy and personal motorised transportation, most particularly since the second half of the 20th century, has, as a consequence, induced an expansion of urban areas outside the borders of cities and encouraged the formation of urban agglomerations. These urban zones are of strategic importance as they attract an increasingly large population and represent a real driver of the national economy. However, the development of these agglomerations and the motorised mobility of their inhabitants cause numerous problems which require solutions to be adopted at the level of the agglomeration involving the interconnection of transport and urbanisation. Our federal political system is characterised by a distribution of responsibilities in many domains among the three institutional levels, namely the Confederation, the cantons and the communes. This is particularly the case of territorial developments. It should be noted that the smallest institutional units, the communes, still hold today important responsibilities in this area. At the beginning of the years 2000, the Confederation has developed a public policy in favour of these strategic zones. Through the establishment of an infrastructure fund, the federal policy in favour of urban agglomerations in the areas of transport and urbanisation aims at providing incentives to agglomerations. The submission by the agglomeration of a project containing a clear description of tasks and measures to integrate transport and urbanisation can result in a cofinancing participation by the Confederation in this project. Among the projects of first generation which had been submitted to the Confederation, some have received the cofinancing, others have not. The too generous dimension of the building areas in the project submitted by the agglomeration of Fribourg was a factor of its failure, while the capacity to develop urbanisation within the agglomeration was a factor of success for the Lausanne-Morges project. The analysis of the projects of the agglomerations Riviera and Monthey-Aigle which are projects of the second generation, as well as the interviews of urbanists and concerned officials have allowed us to identify their strengths and weaknesses. The Riviera project provides a complementary approach and a high potential of territorial developments, but at the same time denotes a lack of cohesion among partners of the project. With respect to the project Monthey-Aigle, there is a real political willingness to resolve conflicts, but the potential for the development of public transports is small. In the consideration by the Confederation of these two projects, the factors mentioned above may bring success or failure. The federal public policy incites the agglomerations to conceive the development of their transportation and urbanisation plans at a global level. The elevation of interests and the political coordination that this requires can improve the place of living of ¾ of the Swiss population and preserve the engine of growth of the national economy.

La contraception d'urgence chez les adolescents en Suisse: une étude sur la sexualité des 16-20 ans

Objectifs: Faire le point sur les connaissances concernant la contraception post-coïtale (CPC) et son utilisation par les adolescentes, et réunir les recommandations utiles aux médecins prescripteurs. Matériel et méthodes: La revue de littérature concernant la CPC et les résultats d'une enquête concernant les comportements sexuels des adolescents de 16-20 ans en Suisse sont utilisés. Résultats: Plusieurs méthodes peuvent être utilisées incluant les oestroprogestatifs et les progestatifs seuls. C'est surtout à l'occasion de rupture de préservatif, d'oubli de pilule ou d'absence de contraception que la CPC peut être utile. Les adolescents sexuellement actifs semblent connaître l'existence de la CPC et 20% des jeunes filles y ont eu recours en Suisse. Mais les obstacles qui limitent l'accès à la CPC sont nombreux au niveau de l'information et de la qualité des services dans cette situation d'urgence. Discussion et conclusion: La sensibilisation des adolescents et des jeunes aux conditions d'utilisation de la CPC est nécessaire, et doit être associée à un effort de formation des professionnels et de qualité des services pour faciliter l'accès à la CPC. Mots-clefs: contraception d?urgence, contraception post-coïtale, pilule du lendemain, adolescents.<br/><br/>Purpose: To describe and analyze emergency contraception (EC) awareness and use among sexually active Swiss teenagers. Methods: Anonymous computerized questionnaires were distributed to a national representative sample of 4283 in-school adolescents (aged 16 to 20 years) in high schools and professional centers. Young people who were sexually active (51.5% of the sample: 1058 girls and 1073 boys) responded to questions on EC awareness and use and on sexual perception, attitude and behaviors. Univariate analyses and multiple regression analyses were used to describe EC awareness and use and their correlates. Results: Most of the sexually active girls (89.3%) and boys (75.2%) knew of the existence of EC. Of girls, 20% reported having used EC, and the majority of them used it only once (64.1%) or twice (18.5%). EC awareness was positively associated with the father's level of education (girls: odds ratio:5.18), and the scholastic curriculum of the respondent. Gender differences in the correlates of EC awareness demonstrate that girls who had a confidant, or a group of friends or boys of Swiss nationality and those who have had the opportunity to discuss the issue of contraception declare greater awareness of EC. EC use was higher among girls who lived in urban areas (odds ratio: 1.91) and occasionally had unprotected intercourse. We did not find any significant difference in the profile of multiple vs. one-time users. Conclusion: EC awareness and use should be improved through better information and accessibility, especially among teenagers who place themselves in at-risk situations. Keywords: Adolescents, Emergency contraception, Gender differences, Teenage pregnancy prevention, Switzerland.

The Outcry of the Periphery? An Analysis of Ticino's No to Immigration

When the popular initiative "against mass immigration" was accepted by the Swiss people and cantons on 9 February 2014, Ticino had by far the highest approval rate. The Italian-speaking canton thus once more confirmed its singular position, assumed since the 1990s, on popular votes regarding immigration and foreign policy. This seems to be indicative of wider crises and changes in both the economic and political spheres that have favoured the emergence of a political opposition between centre and periphery. The results of a survey among 1400 citizens of Ticino after the vote of 9 February confirm this. In essence, on top of the question of immigration, the vote was influenced by a fearful perception of Ticino as a "double periphery" vis-à-vis both Berne and Lombardy.

Exploring Different Types of Sharing: A Proposed Segmentation of the Market for "Sharing Businesses"

Sharing instead of buying is regaining traction among today's consumers. This study aims at identifying segments of sharing consumers to unearth potentially viable clusters of a consumer behavior that is a market of growing economic relevance. By means of a qualitative study and a survey with a roughly representative sample of 1121 Swiss-German and German consumers, a set of trait-related, motivational, and perceived socioeconomic variables is identified that can be used to group individuals into segments that differ with regard to their approach to sharing. A cluster analysis based on these variables suggests four potential clusters of sharing consumers-sharing idealists, sharing opponents, sharing pragmatists, and sharing normatives. Two sets of testable propositions are derived that can guide further research in this domain and pave the way to a more targeted approach to the growing market of "sharing" businesses.