University Of Zurich Research Articles

A 3-year Retrospective Analysis of Dento-Alveolar Injuries at the University Children's Hospital Zurich (2018-2020).

Children and adolescents are vulnerable to dental trauma due to their active lifestyles, lack of coordination, and inexperience in recognizing potentially dangerous situations. Early recognition and proper management of dental trauma is crucial in order to minimize the risk of complications and ensure optimal outcomes. The aim of this study was to perform a retrospective analysis of all dento-alveolar injuries in children and adolescents who were treated at the University Children's Hospital Zurich from 2018-2020 by the resident physicians of the Centre of Dental Medicine of the University of Zurich. All information concerning age and sex distribution, seasonal and weekly variations, as well as aetiology, types of trauma and co-affected structures in the head and neck area from 389 patients was analysed. For data extraction, a parameterised Excel list was created, enabling a continuous data collection. In the study, 65% of the patients were male and 35% female. The average patient age was 7 years and 4 months. The highest frequency of trauma occurred in mixed dentition (49%), followed by deciduous dentition (36%) and permanent dentition (15%). Most of the accidents occurred in the second quarter of the year, especially in the month of May slightly more injuries were reported. The most common injuries were increased tooth mobility (40%) and tooth fractures without pulp exposure (34%). Less frequent were tooth fractures with pulp exposure (12%), lateral dislocations (29%), avulsions (21%), intrusions (8%), extrusions (6%) and root fractures (4%). As in many studies the upper central incisors were most often affected. Main causes of dental trauma were falls, especially by bike (18%) or scooter (14%). Soft tissue injuries or fractures, in the area of the head and neck occurred in 59% and 10% of the cases simultaneously accompanied by dento-alveolar trauma.

Double vitrification and warming does not compromise the chance of live birth after single unbiopsied blastocyst transfer.

Does double vitrification and thawing of an embryo compromise the chance of live birth after a single blastocyst transfer? The live birth rate (LBR) obtained after double vitrification was comparable to that obtained after single vitrification. Double vitrification-warming (DVW) is commonly practiced to accommodate surplus viable embryos suitable for transfer, to allow retesting of inconclusively diagnosed blastocysts in preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), and to circumvent limitations associated with national policies on embryo culture in certain countries. Despite its popularity, the evidence concerning the impact of DVW practice on ART outcomes is limited and lacking credibility. This is the first thorough investigation of clinical pregnancy and LBR following DVW in the case where the first round of vitrification occurred at the zygote stage and the second round occurred at the blastocyst stage in the absence of biopsy. This is a retrospective observational analysis of n = 407 single blastocyst transfers whereby embryos created by IVF/ICSI were vitrified-warmed once (single vitrification-warming (SVW) n = 310) or twice (DVW, n = 97) between January 2017 and December 2021. In the SVW group, blastocysts were vitrified on Day 5/6 and warmed on the day of embryo transfer (ET). In the DVW group, two pronuclear (2PN) zygotes were first vitrified-warmed and then re-vitrified on Day 5/6 and warmed on the day of ET. Exclusion criteria were ETs from PGT and vitrified-warmed oocyte cycles. All of the ETs were single blastocyst transfers performed at the University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland following natural or artificial endometrial preparation. The biochemical pregnancy rate, clinical pregnancy rate (CPR), and LBR were all comparable between the DVW and SVW groups. The CPR for DVW was 44.3% and for SVW it was 42.3% (P = 0.719). The LBR for DVW was 30.9% and for SVW it was 28.7% (P = 0.675). The miscarriage rate was additionally similar between the groups: 27.9% for DVW and 32.1% for SVW groups (P = 0.765). The study is limited by its retrospective nature. Caution should be taken concerning interpretation of these findings in cases where DVW occurs at different stages of embryo development. The result of the present study on DVW procedure provides a framework for counselling couples on their chance of clinical pregnancy per warming cycle. It additionally provides confidence and reassurance to laboratory professionals in certain countries where national policies limit embryo culture strategies making DVW inevitable. This work was supported by the University Research Priority Program 'Human Reproduction Reloaded' of the University of Zurich. The authors have no conflict of interest related to this study to declare. N/A.

The prevalence of equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis and the role of interincisal angulation in disease severity in a representative cohort of horses in Switzerland.

Equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) is an increasingly diagnosed degenerative dental disease in aged horses. The primary aim of this retrospective study was to determine the prevalence of EOTRH in horses admitted to the Equine Hospital, University of Zurich, for dental procedures from 2004 to 2017. A secondary goal was to measure and compare interincisal angles on two-dimensional radiographs of horses with EOTRH to determine whether the interincisal angle is associated with age and severity of the disease. Radiographs were assessed for the presence of lysis and/or hypercementosis, and the number and position of the teeth affected were determined. Each tooth was also evaluated using the modified classification system introduced by Rehrl et al. (2018), in which stage 0 indicates no radiographic abnormalities and stage 3 denotes severe abnormalities. The overall stage was defined by the tooth with the most severe lesions. The interincisal angle was determined in horses that had suitable radiographs. The medical records of 838 horses admitted for dental procedures were evaluated, and 85 (10,1 %) had clinical evidence of EOTRH. The mean interincisal angle was 136,06 ° in horses with mild to moderate EOTRH and 135,10 ° (SD = 11,90 °) in severely affected patients. In conclusion, the angle measurements on lateral radiographs were highly reproducible. However, the interincisal angle was not associated with age or the severity of EOTRH. The interincisal angle and the disease pattern were not correlated.

Electron transport measurements in liquid xenon with Xenoscope, a large-scale DARWIN demonstrator

The DARWIN observatory is a proposed next-generation experiment with 40 tonnes of liquid xenon as an active target in a time projection chamber. To study challenges related to the construction and operation of a multi-tonne scale detector, we have designed and constructed a vertical, full-scale demonstrator for the DARWIN experiment at the University of Zurich. Here, we present the first results from a several-months run with 343,hbox {kg} of xenon and electron drift lifetime and transport measurements with a 53,hbox {cm} tall purity monitor immersed in the cryogenic liquid. After 88,hbox {days} of continuous purification, the electron lifetime reached a value of (664,pm ,23),upmu hbox {s}. We measured the drift velocity of electrons for electric fields in the range (25–75) V/cm, and found values consistent with previous measurements. We also calculated the longitudinal diffusion constant of the electron cloud in the same field range, and compared with previous data, as well as with predictions from an empirical model.

Research Hotspots and Trends of Bone Xenograft in Clinical Procedures: A Bibliometric and Visual Analysis of the Past Decade.

Bone defect therapy is a common clinical challenge for orthopedic and clinical physicians worldwide, and the therapeutic effect affects the physiological function and healthy life quality of millions of patients. Compared with traditional autogenous bone transplants, bone xenografts are attracting attention due to their advantages of unlimited availability and avoidance of secondary damage. However, there is currently a lack of bibliometric analysis on bone xenograft. This study aimed to use bibliometric methods to analyze the literature on bone xenograft from 2013 to 2023, to explore the current status, hotspots, and future trends of research in this field, and to promote its development and progress. Using the Web of Science Core Collection database, we retrieved and collected publication data related to xenogeneic bone grafting materials worldwide from January 2013 to March 2023. Origin (2021), CiteSpace (6.2.R2 standard), and an online bibliometric platform were used for bibliometric analysis and data visualization. A total of 3395 documents were retrieved, and 686 eligible papers were selected. The country and institutions with the highest number of publications and centrality were the United States (125 papers, centrality = 0.44) and the University of Zurich (29 papers, centrality = 0.28), respectively. The most cited author was Araujo MG (163 times), and the author with the most significant centrality was Froum SJ (centrality = 0.09). The main keyword clusters were "tissue engineering", "sinus floor elevation", "dental implants", "tooth extraction", and "bone substitutes". The most significant bursting keywords in the last three years were "platelet rich fibrin". Research on bone xenograft is steadily growing and will continue to rise. Currently, research hotspots and directions are mainly focused on dental implants related to bone-augmentation techniques and bone tissue engineering. In the future, research hotspots and directions may focus on decellularization technology and investigations involving platelet-rich fibrin.

Book Review: A New Indigenous University in the Rainforest in Colombia (2020). Studio Lacaton & Vassal and ETH D-ARCH

A new indigenous university in the Colombian forest is the title of this work, published in 2020 by Studio Lacaton & Vassal and ETH D-ARCH. The book presents extensive visual documentation and a textual chronicle of the project to build an indigenous university in Putumayo. The publication recounts the beginnings of the project, the participants and provides reflections on the encounters. One of the main contributions in the book is made by the artist Ursula Biemann, from Devenir Universidad. She was the one who made the various contacts possible, after having made an expedition in the Colombian Amazon and having met and got to know the Inga culture. The book also presents the visions and proposals on the essential characteristics of the Inga University, which allows the construction of a first conceptual basis for the project. This document is the result of a collaboration agreement between the Polytechnic University of Zurich, Switzerland (ETH), the Department of Architecture and the Pontificia Javeriana University, Colombia with representatives of the Inga community of Putumayo.

Ryssia Wolfsohn's 1907 dissertation on "the heredity of dementia praecox".

In the 19th century, psychiatric genetic studies typically utilized a generic category of "insanity." This began to change after 1899, with the publication of Kraepelin's 6th edition containing, among other disorders, his mature concept of dementia praecox (DP). We here review an article published by Ryssia Wolfsohn in 1907 from her dissertation at the University of Zurich entitled "Die Heredität bei Dementia praecox" (The Heredity of Dementia Praecox). This work, performed under the supervision of E. Bleuler, was to our knowledge the first formal genetic study of the then new diagnosis of DP. She investigated 550 DP probands admitted to the Burghölzli hospital with known information about their "heredity burden." For most probands, she had information on parents, siblings, grandparents, and aunts/uncles. Of these patients, only 10% had no psychiatric illness in their families. In the remaining probands, she found rates of the four major categories of psychopathology she investigated: mental illness-56%, nervous disorders-19%, peculiar personalities 12% and alcoholism 13%. Her most novel analyses compared either total familial burden or burden of her four forms of mental disorders on her DP probands divided by subtype and outcome. In neither of these analyses, did she find significant differences.

Nearctic Pleistocene ungulates from the Pampean region (Argentina) in the historical collections of Santiago Roth in Switzerland: an overview

Nearctic ungulates such as artiodactyls, perissodactyls, and proboscideans arrived in South America during the Great American Biotic Interchange. Among them are camelids, cervids, tayassuids, equids, tapirids and gomphotherids. A historical collection of Nearctic ungulates from Pleistocene deposits of the Pampean region in Argentina is here studied and described. The collection consists of specimens collected by Santiago Roth in the nineteenth century and brought to Europe, where they are housed in the paleontological collections of the University of Zurich and the Natural History Museum of Geneva. Among the taxa reported here are Notiomastodon platensis,Lama guanicoe, Hemiauchenia paradoxa, Tayassu pecari, Morenelaphus sp., Hippidion cf. H. principale, Equus cf. E. neogeus, and other indeterminate gomphotherids, camelids, tayassuids, cervids, and equids. The exact stratigraphic position of these fossils collected more than 130 years ago is in many cases uncertain. The historical collection is still relevant for taxonomic studies and for offering new insights into palaeobiogeography and palaeobiology of mammalian fauna of the region during the Pleistocene.

The stalwart - Carl gustav jung

ABSTRACT Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist who pioneered in analytical psychology. His fundamental work on the unconscious human mind, association tests, archetypes, anima and animus, the self, the persona, introverted, extroverted, synchronicity, psyche, complexes, and individuation has an influential impact on psychology, for which he became the father of analytical psychology also known as Jungian psychology. His works in literature, art, philosophy, religion, and spirituality are inspirational. In World War I, he worked under Eugen Bleuler as a psychiatrist at Zurich University. He was a close associate of Sigmund Freud but it did not last long. “Psychology of the Unconscious” is one of his exceptional works.

Szwajcarska geneza antropologii i etnologii Jana Czekanowskiego (1882-1965) i Stanisława Poniatowskiego (1884-1945)

SWISS GENESIS OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY BY JAN CZEKANOWSKI (1882-1965) AND STANISŁAW PONIATOWSKI (1884-1945) The history of Polish science still has many gaps. This is the case of Jan Czekanowski and Stanisław Poniatowski. They both studied physical anthropology at the University of Zurich. This article explains the reason for their ethnographic and ethnological research, which they successfully conducted in these disciplines. In addition, the questions of how they got to Switzerland and what prompted the choice of the field of study are answered. The political context of both scholars going to study in Switzerland is taken into account. For the first time in Polish literature on the subject, a complete list of scholars and courses that they studied at the University of Zurich is provided. The list is reconstructed on the basis of sources located in archives and libraries in Zurich.

Russian Arctic Vegetation Archive—A new database of plant community composition and environmental conditions

AbstractMotivationThe goal of the Russian Arctic Vegetation Archive (AVA‐RU) is to unite and harmonize data of plot‐based plant species and their abundance, vegetation structure and environmental variables from the Russian Arctic. This database can be used to assess the status of the Russian Arctic vegetation and as a baseline to document biodiversity changes in the future. The archive can be used for scientific studies as well as to inform nature protection and restoration efforts.Main types of variables containedThe archive contains 2873 open‐access geobotanical plots. The data include the full species. Most plots include information on the horizontal (cover per species and morphological group) and vertical (average height per morphological group) structure of vegetation, site and soil descriptions and data quality estimations. In addition to the open‐access data, the AVA‐RU website contains 1912 restricted‐access plots.Spatial location and grainThe plots of 1–100 m2 size were sampled in Arctic Russia and Scandinavia. Plots in Russia covered areas from the West to the East, including the European Russian Arctic (Kola Peninsula, Nenets Autonomous district), Western Siberia (Northern Urals, Yamal, Taza and Gydan peninsulas), Central Siberia (Taymyr peninsula, Bolshevik island), Eastern Siberia (Indigirka basin) and the Far East (Wrangel island). About 72% of the samples are georeferenced.Time period and grainThe data were collected once at each location between 1927 and 2022.Major taxa and level of measurementPlots include observations of >1770 vascular plant and cryptogam species and subspecies.Software formatCSV files (1 file with species list and abundance, 1 file with environmental variables and vegetation structure) are stored at the AVA‐RU website (https://avarus.space/), and are continuously updated with new datasets. The open‐access data are available on Dryad and all the datasets have a backup on the server of the University of Zurich. The data processing R script is available on Dryad.

AI and IP: Theory to Policy and Back Again – Policy and Research Recommendations at the Intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property

The interaction between artificial intelligence and intellectual property rights (IPRs) is one of the key areas of development in intellectual property law. After much, albeit selective, debate, it seems to be gaining increasing practical relevance through intense AI-related market activity, an initial set of case law on the matter, and policy initiatives by international organizations and lawmakers. Against this background, Zurich University’s Center for Intellectual Property and Competition Law is conducting, together with the Swiss Intellectual Property Institute, a research and policy project that explores the future of intellectual property law in an AI context. This paper briefly describes the AI/IP Research Project and presents an initial set of policy recommendations for the development of IP law with a view to AI. The recommendations address topics such as AI inventorship in patent law; AI authorship in copyright law; the need for sui generis rights to protect innovative AI output; rules for the allocation of AI-related IPRs; IP protection carve-outs in order to facilitate AI system development, training, and testing; the use of AI tools by IP offices; and suitable software protection and data usage regimes.

Knowledge mapping of UMOD of English published work from 1985 to 2022: a bibliometric analysis

BackgroundUMOD is exclusively produced by renal epithelial cells. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) suggested that common variants in UMOD gene are closely connected with the risk of CKD. However, a comprehensive and objective report on the current status of UMOD research is lacking. Therefore, we aim to conduct a bibliometric analysis to quantify and identify the status quo and trending issues of UMOD research in the past.MethodsWe collected data from the Web of Science Core Collection database and used the Online Analysis Platform of Literature Metrology, the Online Analysis Platform of Literature Metrology and Microsoft Excel 2019 to perform bibliometricanalysis and visualization.ResultsBased on the data from the WoSCC database from 1985 to 2022, a total of 353 UMOD articles were published in 193 academic journals by 2346 authors from 50 different countries/regions and 396 institutions. The United States published the most papers. Professor Devuyst O from University of Zurich not only published the greatest number of UMOD-related papers but also is among the top 10 co-cited authors. KIDNEY INTERNATIONAL published the most necroptosis studies, and it was also the most cited journal. High-frequency keywords mainly included ‘chronic kidney disease’, ‘Tamm Horsfall protein’ and ‘mutation’.ConclusionsThe number of UMOD-related articles has steadily increased over the past decades Current UMOD studies focused on Biological relevance of the UMOD to kidney function and potential applications in the risk of CKD mechanisms, these might provide ideas for further research in the UMOD field.

A bibliometric and visualized analysis of preoperative future liver remnant augmentation techniques from 1997 to 2022.

The size and function of the future liver remnant (FLR) is an essential consideration for both eligibility for treatment and postoperative prognosis when planning surgical hepatectomy. Over time, a variety of preoperative FLR augmentation techniques have been investigated, from the earliest portal vein embolization (PVE) to the more recent Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) and liver venous deprivation (LVD) procedures. Despite numerous publications on this topic, no bibliometric analysis has yet been conducted. Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database was searched to identify studies related to preoperative FLR augmentation techniques published from 1997 to 2022. The analysis was performed using the CiteSpace [version 6.1.R6 (64-bit)] and VOSviewer [version 1.6.19]. A total of 973 academic studies were published by 4431 authors from 920 institutions in 51 countries/regions. The University of Zurich was the most published institution while Japan was the most productive country. Eduardo de Santibanes had the most published articles, and Masato Nagino was the most frequently co-cited author. The most frequently published journal was HPB, and the most cited journal was Ann Surg, with 8088 citations. The main aspects of preoperative FLR augmentation technique is to enhance surgical technology, expand clinical indications, prevent and treat postoperative complications, ensure long-term survival, and evaluate the growth rate of FLR. Recently, hot keywords in this field include ALPPS, LVD, and Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy. This bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive overview of preoperative FLR augmentation techniques, offering valuable insights and ideas for scholars in this field.

First person – Chandra Ramakrishnan

ABSTRACT First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Chandra Ramakrishnan is co-first author on ‘ Radial spoke protein 9 is necessary for axoneme assembly in Plasmodium but not in trypanosomatid parasites’, published in JCS. Chandra conducted the research described in this article while a postdoc in Prof. Robert E. Sinden's lab at Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, UK. She is now a senior staff scientist in the lab of Prof. Adrian B. Hehl at Institute of Parasitology, University of Zurich, Switzerland, investigating genes and their regulation important for the sexual development of coccidian parasites.

Dilated Virchow-Robin spaces are a marker for arterial disease in multiple sclerosis.

Virchow-Robin spaces (VRS) have been associated with neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation. However, it remains uncertain to what degree non-dilated or dilated VRS reflect specific features of neuroinflammatory pathology. Thus, we aimed at investigating the clinical relevance of VRS as imaging biomarker in multiple sclerosis (MS) and to correlate VRS to their histopathologic signature. In a cohort study comprising 142 MS patients and 30 control subjects, we assessed the association of non-dilated and dilated VRS to clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes. Findings were corroborated in a validation cohort comprising 63 MS patients. Brain blocks from 6 MS patients and 3 non-MS controls were histopathologically processed to correlate VRS to their tissue substrate. In our actively treated clinical cohort, the count of dilated centrum semiovale VRS was associated with increased T1 and T2 lesion volumes. There was no systematic spatial colocalization of dilated VRS with MS lesions. At tissue level, VRS mostly corresponded to arteries and were not associated with MS pathological hallmarks. Interestingly, in our exvivo cohort comprising mostly progressive MS patients, dilated VRS in MS were associated with signs of small vessel disease. Contrary to prior beliefs, these observations suggest that VRS in MS do not associate with an accumulation of immune cells. But instead, these findings indicate vascular pathology as a driver and/or consequence of neuroinflammatory pathology for this imaging feature. NIH, Swedish Society for Medical Research, Swiss National Science Foundation and University of Zurich.

Bibliometric Analysis of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies on Manual Therapy Analgesia from 2002-2022.

Research on the brain mechanisms underlying manual therapy (MT)-induced analgesia has been conducted worldwide. However, no bibliometric analysis has been performed on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of MT analgesia. To provide a theoretical foundation for the practical application of MT analgesia, this study examined the current incarnation, hotspots, and frontiers of fMRI-based MT analgesia research over the previous 20 years. All publications were obtained from the Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-E) of Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC). We used CiteSpace 6.1.R3 to analyze publications, authors, cited authors, countries, institutions, cited journals, references, and keywords. We also evaluated keyword co-occurrences and timelines, and citation bursts. The search was conducted from 2002-2022 and was completed within one day on October 7, 2022. In total, 261 articles were retrieved. The total number of annual publications showed a fluctuating but overall increasing trend. Author B. Humphreys had the highest number of publications (eight articles) and J. E. Bialosky had the highest centrality (0.45). The United States of America (USA) was the country with the most publications (84 articles), accounting for 32.18% of all publications. Output institutions were mainly the University of Zurich, University of Switzerland, and the National University of Health Sciences of the USA. The Spine (118) and the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (80) were most frequently cited. The four hot topics in fMRI studies on MT analgesia were "low back pain", "magnetic resonance imaging", "spinal manipulation", and "manual therapy." The frontier topics were "clinical impacts of pain disorders" and "cutting-edge technical capabilities offered by magnetic resonance imaging". fMRI studies of MT analgesia have potential applications. fMRI studies of MT analgesia have linked several brain areas, with the default mode network (DMN) garnering the most attention. Future research should include international collaboration and RCTs on this topic.

Lehre am Sprachenzentrum der UZH und der ETH Zürich: Positionspapier

Abstract This activity report This Activity Report is a follow up of reflections and ideas based on a paper by Sabina Schaffner. 2022. Lehre am Sprachenzentrum der UZH und ETH Zurich: Positionspapier. In Anna Maria De Bartolo & Jean M. Jimenez (eds.), Approccio Umanistico e Creativo nella Didattica Universitaria: Riflessioni e Best Practice. Studi in onore di Carmen Argondizzo. Quaderni del Dipartimento di Linguistica Università della Calabria 30, 491-508. Armadillo Editore. is based on teachers’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting reflection on teaching that the Language Center of University of Zurich (UZH) and ETH Zurich initiated. Framed in the context of Higher Education, the report takes into account both the discussion on the future of teaching at UZH, which was launched by the Vice President of Education and Student Affairs for Teaching and Learning, as well as the Language Center’s teaching strategy. In addition, course evaluations at the Language Center in the 2020 Spring and Autumn Semesters, research on digital (language) teaching, recommendations on university didactics, and results of additional international surveys on language teaching in Higher Education during the pandemic are examined. The aim of the report is to strategically define the future of language teaching at the Language Center of UZH and ETH Zurich and to identify the fields of action associated therewith. With this detailed report of the activities that we implemented at the UZH Language Center throughout the years, we would like to make a contribution to the (inter)national positioning of university language centers. At a panel organized at the Language Center’s Twentieth Anniversary Conference on 10 June 2022, stakeholders shared their thoughts on the services the Center currently provides and ideas for further developing these services. The stakeholders’ feedback features prominently in this activity report, thereby adding to the impact that the report can have on potential readers.

Prolonged Normothermic Machine Perfusion: Buying More Time for Liver Graft Assessment and Repair.

Prolonged Normothermic Machine Perfusion: Buying More Time for Liver Graft Assessment and Repair.

A complex network regulating malate contents during fruit ripening in climacteric fruits.

This article is a Commentary on Wang et al. (2023), 239: 1014–1034.