Effects of Occupation-Specific Vocal Stress on the Mental Health of Day Care Teachers.

INTRODUCTION: Kindergarten teachers are exposed to numerous kinds of strains, such as noise, which can negatively affect their voices. This cross-sectional study investigates whether and to what extent the profession-specific high vocal demand is associated with the educators' mental health. METHODS: One hundred and ninety-two kindergarten teachers from Magdeburg, Germany and its surrounding areas aged 43.4 ± 12.8 years, voluntarily participated in a survey. Vocal demand and vocal demand response, general strain factors, and mental health were assessed by using questionnaires (self-check on voice demands, Rudow checklist, General Health Questionnaire, and Maslach Burnout Inventory). The statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS. RESULTS: The interviewed educators felt stressed by the excessive number of work tasks and children in each class, noisy work environment, and loud conversations. In addition, educators complained of headaches and neck pain (66%), while 28% of them experienced hoarseness and a burning throat. The mental health of 39 of the educators was impaired, and nine were at an increased risk of burnout. Self-reported voice effort correlated low with mental health (r = 0.287; p < 0.001) and burnout risk (r = 0.306; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The vocal demands on educators in day care settings are very high, which is a major associated factor for the development of burnout syndrome and is also associated with headaches and neck pain. Measures for the prevention of occupational voice disorders and voice training should be a mandatory part of the educators' training and must be offered as in-service training.

[Surgery of the Larynx - Part 2b: Transcervical Surgical Therapy of Malignant Lesions]. / Chirurgie des Larynx ­ Teil 2b: Transzervikale chirurgische Therapie maligner Läsionen.

Transoral endoscopic laryngeal surgery (TEC) is typically used as a cervical tissue-sparing and function-preserving surgical procedure. Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) in particular has been pushing the boundaries towards transoral resection in recent years. Nevertheless, there are still limitations to this approach. Transcervical surgery is then the therapy of choice. It is used in case of insufficient visibility of the entire larynx and especially the tumor-bearing region, cartilage infiltration, a lack of mobility of both arytenoid cartilages or a lack of patient compliance. Even with the transcervical approach, from an oncological point of view, the procedure must be as radical as necessary on the one hand and as function-preserving as possible on the other. In case of a transcervical appraoch, however, additional requirements, side effects and consequences must be considered during planning, implementation and follow-up treatment. In addition to our previous publications, this article is intended to provide an overview of transcervical surgery for malignancies of the larynx.

[Laryngeal Surgery - Malignant Lesions]. / Chirurgie des Larynx: Maligne Läsionen.

This article is intended to give an overview of the surgery for laryngeal malignancies and the current state of transoral endoscopic laryngeal surgery. The current therapy concepts in transoral endoscopic laryngeal surgery are presented in combination with the various possibilities of reconstruction. The adequate oncological treatment under functional aspects described plays the decisive role here: treatment goals beyond the cure of the tumor disease are the functional maintenance of the larynx with simultaneous preservation of the voice. In general, the diagnosis and treatment of (pre-) cancerous lesions of the laryngeal mucosa is demanding and requires a great deal of experience of the attending laryngologist. Updated classification systems support level-based categorization. In transoral endoscopic laryngeal surgery, resection using cold instruments and the CO2 laser are currently among the traditional methods, although newer methods such as the angiolytic laser can be used to ablate these lesions. Transoral endoscopic laryngeal surgery is a highly endoscopic-microscopic procedure in (pre-) cancerous lesions, which may presumably continue to evolve from the microlaryngoscopic approach over the next few years due to the introduction of new instruments and high-resolution imaging techniques. Robot-assisted surgery has also found its way into the transoral endoscopic treatment of laryngeal carcinoma. Only in the next few years, however, will it become clear to what extent this technique can supplement, replace or clarify surgical methods, since the individualized surgical strategy currently has a priority position for every single patient.

Flexible transnasal endoscopy with white light or narrow band imaging for the diagnosis of laryngeal malignancy: diagnostic value, observer variability and influence of previous laryngeal surgery.

PURPOSE: Flexible transnasal endoscopy is a common examination technique for the evaluation of laryngeal lesions, while the use of narrow band imaging (NBI) has been reported to enhance the diagnostic value of white light endoscopy (WLE). The purpose of this study is to assess observer variability and diagnostic value of both modalities and investigate the possible influence of previous laryngeal surgery on the detection rates of laryngeal malignancy. METHODS: The study was based on the retrospective evaluation of 170 WLE and NBI images of laryngeal lesions by three observers in a random order. The histopathological diagnoses serve as the gold standard. RESULTS: In identifying laryngeal malignancy, the sensitivity of NBI proved to be higher than that of WLE (93.3% vs. 77.0%). NBI was also superior to WLE in terms of accuracy (96.3% vs. 92%) and diagnostic odds ratio (501.83 vs. 120.65). Both modalities had a specificity of 97.3%. The inter-observer agreement was substantial (kappa = 0.661) for WLE and almost perfect (kappa = 0.849) for NBI. Both WLE and NBI showed a high level of intra-observer agreement. The sensitivity was significantly lower in images with history of previous laryngeal surgery compared to those without. CONCLUSIONS: Flexible transnasal endoscopy has been proved to be a valuable tool in the diagnosis of laryngeal malignancy. The use of NBI can increase the sensitivity and observer reliability in that context and can also provide a diagnostic gain in cases with previous laryngeal surgery.

[Endoscopic early diagnosis of carcinomas in upper respiratory and digestive tract]. / Endoskopische Frühdiagnostik von Karzinomen im oberen Aerodigestivtrakt.

Modern endoscopic imaging techniques make it possible to detect tumor diseases of the upper respiratory and digestive tract and treat them minimally invasive - with a good oncologic outcome and maintaining the functionality of the tissue.Horizontal techniques permit the inspection of big mucous membrane surfaces, searching vor areas suspicious of dysplasia or tumor. They can be used as screening techniques. Vertical techniques serve for precise examination of in-depth expansion, infiltration chraracteristics and dignity of known lesions. Cellular techniques deal with the detection of cellular changes in vivo. As the techniques have different advantages and disandvantages, it is recommended to combine several techniques for best diagnostic gains.

[Reduction of post-surgical pain by Manual Medicine following tonsillectomy in adults]. / Reduktion postoperativer Schmerzen durch Manuelle Medizin bei Erwachsenen nach Tonsillektomie.

Objective Postoperative pain after tonsillectomy (TE) can usually be treated sufficiently by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In some patients, however, postoperative pain is more prominent on one side of the neck. Our clinical experience has demonstrated that these patients often show a segmental hypomobility of the upper cervical joints that can be successfully treated by manual medicine (MM). The analgetic effectiveness of this treatment was investigated in a prospective, randomized, placebocontrolled, single-blind study. Material and Methods 52 adults with exceptionally strong (visual analog scale VAS > 4) and/or unilateral pain after TE (between day 1 and 4) were included in this study. Postoperatively (TE) pain scores were immediately evaluated by VAS before (t0) and after (t1) the treatment (MM) as well as 4 hours (t2) and 1 day later (t3). Results Results show a significantly higher reduction in pain in the verum group compared to the placebo group (t1: p = 0.012, t3: p = 0.012, both Bonferroni-adjusted). The difference to t2 was not significant (p = 0.54 Conclusion This study has demonstrated effective pain reduction by manual medicine in adults with exceptionally strong and/or unilateral pain after TE and cervical hypomobolity.

Objective quantification of the vocal fold vascular pattern: comparison of narrow band imaging and white light endoscopy.

No clinical standard procedure has yet been defined to quantify the vascular pattern of vocal folds. Subjective classification trials have shown a lot of promise. Narrow band imaging (NBI) as an endoscopic imaging tool is useful, because it shows the vascular structure clearer than white light endoscopy (WL) alone. Endoscopic images of 74 human vocal folds (NBI and WL) were semi-automatically evaluated after image processing with respect to pixels of vessels and mucosa by the software MeVisLab. The ratios of vessel/mucosa pixels were compared. Using NBI, more vocal fold vessels are visible compared with WL alone (p = 0.000). There may be a difference between the right and left vocal folds due to the handedness of the examiner (p = 0.033) without any interaction between the method (NBI/WL) and the side (right/left) (p = 0.467). MeVisLab is a suitable tool for the objective quantification of the vessel/mucosa ratio for NBI and WL endoscopic images. NBI is an appropriate endoscopic tool for examination of diseases of vocal folds with changes in the vascular pattern. There is evidence that the handedness of the examiner may have an influence on the quality of the examination between the right and left vocal folds.

Proposal for a descriptive guideline of vascular changes in lesions of the vocal folds by the committee on endoscopic laryngeal imaging of the European Laryngological Society.

In the last decades new endoscopic tools have been developed to improve the diagnostic work-up of vocal fold lesions in addition to normal laryngoscopy, i.e., contact endoscopy, autofluorescence, narrow band imaging and others. Better contrasted and high definition images offer more details of the epithelial and superficial vascular structure of the vocal folds. Following these developments, particular vascular patterns come into focus during laryngoscopy. The present work aims at a systematic pathogenic description of superficial vascular changes of the vocal folds. Additionally, new nomenclature on vascular lesions of the vocal folds will be presented to harmonize the different terms in the literature. Superficial vascular changes can be divided into longitudinal and perpendicular. Unlike longitudinal vascular lesions, e.g., ectasia, meander and change of direction, perpendicular vascular lesions are characterized by different types of vascular loops. They are primarily observed in recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, and in pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions of the vocal folds. These vascular characteristics play a significant role in the differential diagnosis. Among different parameters, e.g., epithelial changes, increase of volume, stiffness of the vocal fold, vascular lesions play an increasing role in the diagnosis of pre- and cancerous lesions.

Dead bodies for the anatomical institute in the Third Reich: An investigation at the University of Jena.

During the period of 2004-2005, a group of anatomists and historians investigated the origin of dead bodies received by the anatomical institute of the University of Jena in the Third Reich. Between 1933 and 1945, the institute received the bodies of 203 executed persons, most of whom had been sentenced to death for relatively minor offenses or opposition to National Socialist (NS) regulations. Moreover, the institute received about 200 bodies of possible "euthanasia" victims from nearby nursing homes and mental institutions, and several dozen dead bodies of forced laborers from Eastern Europe. Many of these persons must be considered victims of NS injustice. One of the central questions of the investigation was whether any remains of NS victims were still present in the anatomical collections of the institute. At their own initiative, members of the anatomical institute initiated the investigation after a change of leadership at the institute. The investigation was characterized by (1) a scholarly approach thanks to the participation of expert historians, (2) transparency, including early and full information of the press, (3) documentation and publication of the results at the national and international level, (4) appropriate consequences for the anatomical collections, and (5) commemoration of the victims. This and other recent investigations demonstrate that a new generation of German anatomists has begun to uncover the role of their institutes during the Third Reich, finally overcoming the phase of silence in postwar German anatomy.

The prevalence of current sunbed use and user characteristics: the SUN-Study 2008.

OBJECTIVES: Although sunbed use is common in many developed countries, little is known about the characteristics of sunbed users. METHODS: The SUN-Study 2008 (Sunbed-Use: Needs for Action-Study 2008) contains data on indoor tanning practices. It has a net sample size of 500 randomly selected 18-45-year-old adults living in Mannheim, Germany. RESULTS: In this sample, current sunbed users were predominantly females, employed, had completed vocational school (or an equivalent certification), were smokers, participated primarily in individual sports and had skin types III or IV. The mean overall prevalence of sun bed use was 21.0%. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight specific potential risk factors for intervention that should be examined in other settings among different populations.

Sunbed use in German adults: risk awareness does not correlate with behaviour.

In Europe, little is known about the prevalence of indoor tanning. The aims of this study were therefore to estimate the prevalence of sunbed use and to identify risk groups and motives in a population-based survey. The cross-sectional "SUN-Study 2008" ("Sunbed-Use: Needs for Action-Study 2008") was conducted in 2008. A total of 500 adults, aged 18-45 years, were randomly selected and asked about their indoor tanning practices, their motivation and risk perception, and the compliance of staff with international sunbed use recommendations. Forty-seven percent of subjects reported having visited an indoor tanning facility at least once in their lives. Prevalence of use was not reduced in risk groups for skin cancer. Risk awareness of users equalled that of non-users. The poor quality of services and advice provided by many solariums was alarming. It can be concluded that appropriate measures to change tanning habits need to be identified. Legal regulations could be one option.

Origin of corpses received by the anatomical institute at the University of Jena during the Nazi regime.

During the Nazi regime (1933-1945), the anatomical institute at the University of Jena received 2,224 corpses, of which approximately 200 originated from executions. The available data clearly suggest that a large portion of these 200 executed persons must be considered victims of Nazi crimes. Approximately an equal number of bodies were delivered from state nursing homes and mental institutions in the state of Thuringia during the same time period. The available data suggest that it is highly likely that many of them were victims of decentralized "euthanasia" programs. The remains of many prisoners of nearby labor camps, mostly from Eastern Europe, are listed in the body register at the institute as well. A group of anatomists and historians has investigated the institute's association with Nazi crimes. Apart from documenting the association, the aim of the investigation is to clarify the whereabouts of the corpses. In particular, it must be ascertained that none of the specimens publicly displayed in the anatomical collection of the Friedrich Schiller University originated in the context of Nazi crimes.

The influence of head and neck geometry on stability of total hip replacement: a mechanical test study.

BACKGROUND: Dislocation after replacement may be caused by poor implant design or positioning, or by the surgical approach taken. We evaluated the influence of head and neck design on range of motion and stability (with respect to risk of dislocation) in total hip endoprostheses. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using a test device, we determined the stability afforded by different head sizes and neck geometries for various implant positions. RESULTS: Increasing head diameter led to an enhancement of range of motion as well as resistance against subluxation, and thus to improved stability in any movement combination and implant orientation. Smaller femoral heads were associated with increased risk of dislocation, especially in a poor implant position such as retroversion, and steep positioning of the cup. Skirted metal or mushroom-shaped ceramic heads had a reduced range of motion until impingement of approx. 20 degrees, as compared to spherical standard heads. Furthermore, after identical joint loading, skirted heads dislocated more readily than standard heads with corresponding diameters. INTERPRETATION: To obtain sufficient joint mobility and stability, neck geometry and implant position should be considered when choosing the femoral head size.

Differences between the wear couples metal-on-polyethylene and ceramic-on-ceramic in the stability against dislocation of total hip replacement.

After total hip replacement an insufficient range of motion (ROM) can lead to contact between femoral neck and rim of the cup (= impingement) causing dislocation and consecutive material failure. The purpose of this study was to analyse the influence of different wear couples on the ROM and stability against dislocation. By means of a special testing device the ROM until impingement, the ROM until dislocation as well as the resisting moment against levering the head out of the cup were experimentally determined. Various total hip systems with cup inserts made of ceramic and polyethylene were comparatively examined in different implant positions. Maximum resisting moment as well as the ROM until impingement and dislocation were clearly influenced by the implant position. Furthermore, the stability against dislocation was affected by design parameters, whereas in the case of appropriate implant position differing wear couples (metal-on-polyethylene vs. ceramic-on-ceramic) had a minor impact. However, as shown by tests under lubricant conditions, ceramic-on-ceramic couples provided less dislocation stability in unfavourable implant position in comparison to metal-on-polyethylene. Therefore, ceramic-on-ceramic couples should only be applied in the case of optimised implant orientation preventing impingement and dislocation with subsequent material failure like chipping off or breakage.

High frequency of phenotypic deviations in Physcomitrella patens plants transformed with a gene-disruption library.

BACKGROUND: The moss Physcomitrella patens is an attractive model system for plant biology and functional genome analysis. It shares many biological features with higher plants but has the unique advantage of an efficient homologous recombination system for its nuclear DNA. This allows precise genetic manipulations and targeted knockouts to study gene function, an approach that due to the very low frequency of targeted recombination events is not routinely possible in any higher plant. RESULTS: As an important prerequisite for a large-scale gene/function correlation study in this plant, we are establishing a collection of Physcomitrella patens transformants with insertion mutations in most expressed genes. A low-redundancy moss cDNA library was mutagenised in E. coli using a derivative of the transposon Tn1000. The resulting gene-disruption library was then used to transform Physcomitrella. Homologous recombination of the mutagenised cDNA with genomic coding sequences is expected to target insertion events preferentially to expressed genes. An immediate phenotypic analysis of transformants is made possible by the predominance of the haploid gametophytic state in the life cycle of the moss. Among the first 16,203 transformants analysed so far, we observed 2636 plants (= 16.2%) that differed from the wild-type in a variety of developmental, morphological and physiological characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: The high proportion of phenotypic deviations and the wide range of abnormalities observed among the transformants suggests that mutagenesis by gene-disruption library transformation is a useful strategy to establish a highly diverse population of Physcomitrella patens mutants for functional genome analysis.