Academic literature on the topic 'Swiss American women'

This article describes an examination of the Swiss-German music books in the Luther Whiting Mason—Osbourne McConathy Collection, undertaken to learn about music education in nineteenth-century Switzerland and its influence on American music education. Pfeiffer and Nägeli introduced Pestalozzi's ideas to Swiss schools, teaching the elements of music separately and introducing sounds before symbols. Swiss educators in the mid-1800s published numerous songbooks and teachers' manuals for an expanding school system. Foreign travelers praised the teaching of Schäublin in Basel. In Zurich, a cultural center with choruses for men and women, music directors continued to produce materials for schools and community choruses in the 1800s. Because travelers like Luther Whiting Mason purchased these books, Swiss ideas on music education spread to other European countries and the United States.

Romantic relationship quality is an important factor for well-being. Most research on romantic relationships is based on heterosexual couples, but studies of different types of dyads showed that relationship functioning among same-sex couples is similar to that among heterosexual couples. However, a few studies suggest that lesbian partners are better communicators and more satisfied in their romantic relationships. The present study aimed to replicate these findings with a sample of Swiss couples, as most of the previous studies have been based on US-American samples. Eighty-two women who were currently in a romantic relationship with either a male or a female partner completed an online questionnaire about their relationship functioning. Compared to heterosexual women, lesbian women reported receiving better support from and experiencing less conflict with their female partners. They also showed a trend toward being more satisfied in their relationship. The study supports the notion that, relative to heterosexual couples, the quality of support and conflict interactions may be enhanced in female same-sex couples.

In this interview, Professor Susan Gasser speaks with Storm Johnson, commissioning editor for Epigenomics, on her research on genome stability, epigenetic regulation and chromatin organization, as well as her work supporting women in research. Susan Gasser completed her BA at the University of Chicago, with an honors thesis in biophysics, and her PhD in biochemistry at the University of Basel in 1982, with Gottfried Schatz. She was a postdoc with Ulrich Laemmli at the University of Geneva, which initiated her career-long interest in chromosomes and chromatin structure. She established her own laboratory at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) in 1986, focusing on chromatin organization in budding yeast, combining genetics, microscopy and biochemical approaches to understanding silent chromatin and telomeres. In 2001, she was named professor of molecular biology at the University of Geneva and expanded her laboratory's pioneering use of high-resolution time-lapse fluorescence microscopy to study single locus dynamics in the nucleus. From 2004 to 2019, Susan was the Director of the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel, where she also led a research group until the end of 2020. In Basel, she extended her research interests into heterochromatin in Caenorhabditis elegans. Her laboratory identified the mechanisms that position tissue-specific genes in the nuclei of embryos and of differentiated tissues, combining high throughput molecular analyses with cell biology to determine structure–function relationships in chromatin. Since January 2021, Susan Gasser has been professor invité at the University of Lausanne and Director of the ISREC Foundation, where she is helping shape the new Agora Institute of Translational Cancer Research. She was elected to the Académie de France, Leopoldina, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), American Association for the Advancement of Science and Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences, and she received the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) International Prize in 2011, the Federation of European Biochemical Societies | EMBO Women in Science Award in 2012, the Weizmann Institute Women in Science Award in 2013 and honorary doctorates from the University of Lausanne, the University of Fribourg and Charles University in Prague. In Switzerland, she was the recipient of the Friedrich Miescher Award, the National Latsis Prize and the Otto Naegeli Award for the promotion of medical research. She participates in numerous review boards and advisory committees in Switzerland, across Europe and in Japan; she currently serves on the governing board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology and the Swiss Science Council. From 2000 to 2004, she was vice chairperson, then chairperson of the EMBO Council. Susan led the Gender Committee of the Swiss National Science Foundation from 2014 to 2019 and initiated the Swiss National Science Foundation Prima program for the Promotion of women in academia. She has actively promoted the careers of women scientists in Europe and Japan.

James Price, Massachusetts Yankee and successful Boston merchant, visited Paris in August 1792, just when the French Revolution was entering into a new and ominous phase. On a trip designed to combine business with pleasure, he ended up witnessing the famous Journée du Dix AoÛt (Tenth of August) – dubbed the “Second French Revolution” by contemporaries – when provincial militia and national guards assaulted the Tuileries palace, massacred the king's Swiss Guards, and toppled the Bourbon monarchy from its centuries-old throne. As a fairly unbiased and certainly perspicacious observer – though with moderate revolutionary sympathies – Price must be included in the list of more famous, and more highly partisan, American witnesses of revolution, notably Thomas Jefferson, John Trumbull, and Gouverneur Morris. Specific topics addressed by Price include women during the Revolution, the dynamic between crowd action and attempts of municipal authorities at control, and the development of a Revolutionary fashion. Price's fascinating diary is not only a running account of events surrounding the fateful Tenth, but also an evaluation and commentary of an outsider, combined with a lively eyewitness description of the Revolutionary street scene. Not included in Marcel Reinhard's standard study on the Journée du Dix, Price's hour-by-hour chronology provides a valuable corroboration of and supplement to Reinhard. His account notes also provide insight into the eighteenth-century Continental travel habits of Americans on the “Grand Tour” and on business.

Abstract STUDY QUESTION To what extent does the use of mobile computing apps to track the menstrual cycle and the fertile window influence fecundability among women trying to conceive? SUMMARY ANSWER After adjusting for potential confounders, use of any of several different apps was associated with increased fecundability ranging from 12% to 20% per cycle of attempt. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Many women are using mobile computing apps to track their menstrual cycle and the fertile window, including while trying to conceive. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION The Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO) is a North American prospective internet-based cohort of women who are aged 21–45 years, trying to conceive and not using contraception or fertility treatment at baseline. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS We restricted the analysis to 8363 women trying to conceive for no more than 6 months at baseline; the women were recruited from June 2013 through May 2019. Women completed questionnaires at baseline and every 2 months for up to 1 year. The main outcome was fecundability, i.e. the per-cycle probability of conception, which we assessed using self-reported data on time to pregnancy (confirmed by positive home pregnancy test) in menstrual cycles. On the baseline and follow-up questionnaires, women reported whether they used mobile computing apps to track their menstrual cycles (‘cycle apps’) and, if so, which one(s). We estimated fecundability ratios (FRs) for the use of cycle apps, adjusted for female age, race/ethnicity, prior pregnancy, BMI, income, current smoking, education, partner education, caffeine intake, use of hormonal contraceptives as the last method of contraception, hours of sleep per night, cycle regularity, use of prenatal supplements, marital status, intercourse frequency and history of subfertility. We also examined the impact of concurrent use of fertility indicators: basal body temperature, cervical fluid, cervix position and/or urine LH. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Among 8363 women, 6077 (72.7%) were using one or more cycle apps at baseline. A total of 122 separate apps were reported by women. We designated five of these apps before analysis as more likely to be effective (Clue, Fertility Friend, Glow, Kindara, Ovia; hereafter referred to as ‘selected apps’). The use of any app at baseline was associated with 20% increased fecundability, with little difference between selected apps versus other apps (selected apps FR (95% CI): 1.20 (1.13, 1.28); all other apps 1.21 (1.13, 1.30)). In time-varying analyses, cycle app use was associated with 12–15% increased fecundability (selected apps FR (95% CI): 1.12 (1.04, 1.21); all other apps 1.15 (1.07, 1.24)). When apps were used at baseline with one or more fertility indicators, there was higher fecundability than without fertility indicators (selected apps with indicators FR (95% CI): 1.23 (1.14, 1.34) versus without indicators 1.17 (1.05, 1.30); other apps with indicators 1.30 (1.19, 1.43) versus without indicators 1.16 (1.06, 1.27)). In time-varying analyses, results were similar when stratified by time trying at study entry (<3 vs. 3–6 cycles) or cycle regularity. For use of the selected apps, we observed higher fecundability among women with a history of subfertility: FR 1.33 (1.05–1.67). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Neither regularity nor intensity of app use was ascertained. The prospective time-varying assessment of app use was based on questionnaires completed every 2 months, which would not capture more frequent changes. Intercourse frequency was also reported retrospectively and we do not have data on timing of intercourse relative to the fertile window. Although we controlled for a wide range of covariates, we cannot exclude the possibility of residual confounding (e.g. choosing to use an app in this observational study may be a marker for unmeasured health habits promoting fecundability). Half of the women in the study received a free premium subscription for one of the apps (Fertility Friend), which may have increased the overall prevalence of app use in the time-varying analyses, but would not affect app use at baseline. Most women in the study were college educated, which may limit application of results to other populations. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Use of a cycle app, especially in combination with observation of one or more fertility indicators (basal body temperature, cervical fluid, cervix position and/or urine LH), may increase fecundability (per-cycle pregnancy probability) by about 12–20% for couples trying to conceive. We did not find consistent evidence of improved fecundability resulting from use of one specific app over another. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This research was supported by grants, R21HD072326 and R01HD086742, from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, USA. In the last 3 years, Dr L.A.W. has served as a fibroid consultant for AbbVie.com. Dr L.A.W. has also received in-kind donations from Sandstone Diagnostics, Swiss Precision Diagnostics, FertilityFriend.com and Kindara.com for primary data collection and participant incentives in the PRESTO cohort. Dr J.B.S. reports personal fees from Swiss Precision Diagnostics, outside the submitted work. The remaining authors have nothing to declare. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER N/A.

Abstract STUDY QUESTION How accurately do women report a diagnosis of endometriosis on self-administered questionnaires? SUMMARY ANSWER Based on the analysis of four international cohorts, women self-report endometriosis fairly accurately with a > 70% confirmation for clinical and surgical records. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY The study of complex diseases requires large, diverse population-based samples, and endometriosis is no exception. Due to the difficulty of obtaining medical records for a condition that may have been diagnosed years earlier and for which there is no standardized documentation, reliance on self-report is necessary. Only a few studies have assessed the validity of self-reported endometriosis compared with medical records, with the observed confirmation ranging from 32% to 89%. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION We compared questionnaire-reported endometriosis with medical record notation among participants from the Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS; 1995-2013), Etude Epidémiologique auprès de femmes de la Mutuelle Générale de l’Education Nationale (E3N; 1990-2006), Growing Up Today Study (GUTS; 2005–2016), and Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII; 1989–1993 first wave, 1995–2007 second wave). PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Participants who had reported endometriosis on self-administered questionnaires gave permission to procure and review their clinical, surgical, and pathology medical records, yielding records for 827 women: 225 (BWHS), 168 (E3N), 85 (GUTS), 132 (NHSII first wave), and 217 (NHSII second wave). We abstracted diagnosis confirmation as well as American Fertility Society (AFS) or revised American Society of Reproductive Medicine (rASRM) stage and visualized macro-presentation (e.g. superficial peritoneal, deep endometriosis, endometrioma). For each cohort, we calculated clinical reference to endometriosis, and surgical- and pathologic-confirmation proportions. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Confirmation was high—84% overall when combining clinical, surgical, and pathology records (ranging from 72% for BWHS to 95% for GUTS), suggesting that women accurately report if they are told by a physician that they have endometriosis. Among women with self-reported laparoscopic confirmation of their endometriosis diagnosis, confirmation of medical records was extremely high (97% overall, ranging from 95% for NHSII second wave to 100% for NHSII first wave). Importantly, only 42% of medical records included pathology reports, among which histologic confirmation ranged from 76% (GUTS) to 100% (NHSII first wave). Documentation of visualized endometriosis presentation was often absent, and details recorded were inconsistent. AFS or rASRM stage was documented in 44% of NHSII first wave, 13% of NHSII second wave, and 24% of GUTS surgical records. The presence/absence of deep endometriosis was rarely noted in the medical records. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Medical record abstraction was conducted separately by cohort-specific investigators, potentially introducing misclassification due to variation in abstraction protocols and interpretation. Additionally, information on the presence/absence of AFS/rASRM stage, deep endometriosis, and histologic findings were not available for all four cohort studies. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Variation in access to care and differences in disease phenotypes and risk factor distributions among patients with endometriosis necessitates the use of large, diverse population samples to subdivide patients for risk factor, treatment response and discovery of long-term outcomes. Women self-report endometriosis with reasonable accuracy (>70%) and with exceptional accuracy when women are restricted to those who report that their endometriosis had been confirmed by laparoscopic surgery (>94%). Thus, relying on self-reported endometriosis in order to use larger sample sizes of patients with endometriosis appears to be valid, particularly when self-report of laparoscopic confirmation is used as the case definition. However, the paucity of data on histologic findings, AFS/rASRM stage, and endometriosis phenotypic characteristics suggests that a universal requirement for harmonized clinical and surgical data documentation is needed if we hope to obtain the relevant details for subgrouping patients with endometriosis. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This project was supported by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development grants HD48544, HD52473, HD57210, and HD94842, National Cancer Institute grants CA50385, R01CA058420, UM1CA164974, and U01CA176726, and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute grant U01HL154386. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. AS, SM, and KT were additionally supported by the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation. MK was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme (#PIOF-GA-2011-302078) and is grateful to the Philippe Foundation and the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation for their financial support. Funders had no role in the study design, conduct of the study or data analysis, writing of the report, or decision to submit the article for publication. LA Wise has served as a fibroid consultant for AbbVie, Inc for the last three years and has received in-kind donations (e.g. home pregnancy tests) from Swiss Precision Diagnostics, Sandstone Diagnostics, Kindara.com, and FertilityFriend.com for the PRESTO cohort. SA Missmer serves as an advisory board member for AbbVie and a single working group service for Roche; neither are related to this study. No other authors have a conflict of interest to report. Funders had no role in the study design, conduct of the study or data analysis, writing of the report, or decision to submit the article for publication. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER N/A.

Starting in the 1960s, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) became one of the most visible points of entry in America for the so-called “Swiss-style,” a distinctive, modernist approach to graphic design. Three women were largely responsible for its success: Therese Moll, Jacqueline Casey, and Muriel Cooper. While Casey and Cooper have begun to get their due, Moll—a visiting designer from Basel—remains almost unknown. This article examines why MIT provided such fertile ground for this style, before it became the lingua franca of corporate modernism, and how, by the 1980s, it traveled from print to screens.

Abstract In 1920, the Swiss-American music teacher and occultist Leah Hirsig (1883–1975) was appointed ‘Scarlet Woman’ by the British occultist Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), founder of the religion Thelema. In this role, Hirsig was Crowley’s right-hand woman during a formative period in the Thelemic movement, but her position shifted when Crowley found a new Scarlet Woman in 1924. Hirsig’s importance in Thelema gradually declined, and she distanced herself from the movement in the late 1920s. The article analyses Hirsig’s changing status in Thelema 1919–1930, proposing the term proximal authority as an auxiliary category to Max Weber’s tripartite typology. Proximal authority is defined as authority ascribed to or enacted by a person based on their real or perceived relational closeness to a leader. The article briefly draws on two parallel cases so as to demonstrate the broader applicability of the term in highlighting how relational closeness to a leadership figure can entail considerable yet precarious power.

Abstract STUDY QUESTION Can we derive adequate models to predict the probability of conception among couples actively trying to conceive? SUMMARY ANSWER Leveraging data collected from female participants in a North American preconception cohort study, we developed models to predict pregnancy with performance of ∼70% in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Earlier work has focused primarily on identifying individual risk factors for infertility. Several predictive models have been developed in subfertile populations, with relatively low discrimination (AUC: 59–64%). STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION Study participants were female, aged 21–45 years, residents of the USA or Canada, not using fertility treatment, and actively trying to conceive at enrollment (2013–2019). Participants completed a baseline questionnaire at enrollment and follow-up questionnaires every 2 months for up to 12 months or until conception. We used data from 4133 participants with no more than one menstrual cycle of pregnancy attempt at study entry. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS On the baseline questionnaire, participants reported data on sociodemographic factors, lifestyle and behavioral factors, diet quality, medical history and selected male partner characteristics. A total of 163 predictors were considered in this study. We implemented regularized logistic regression, support vector machines, neural networks and gradient boosted decision trees to derive models predicting the probability of pregnancy: (i) within fewer than 12 menstrual cycles of pregnancy attempt time (Model I), and (ii) within 6 menstrual cycles of pregnancy attempt time (Model II). Cox models were used to predict the probability of pregnancy within each menstrual cycle for up to 12 cycles of follow-up (Model III). We assessed model performance using the AUC and the weighted-F1 score for Models I and II, and the concordance index for Model III. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Model I and II AUCs were 70% and 66%, respectively, in parsimonious models, and the concordance index for Model III was 63%. The predictors that were positively associated with pregnancy in all models were: having previously breastfed an infant and using multivitamins or folic acid supplements. The predictors that were inversely associated with pregnancy in all models were: female age, female BMI and history of infertility. Among nulligravid women with no history of infertility, the most important predictors were: female age, female BMI, male BMI, use of a fertility app, attempt time at study entry and perceived stress. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Reliance on self-reported predictor data could have introduced misclassification, which would likely be non-differential with respect to the pregnancy outcome given the prospective design. In addition, we cannot be certain that all relevant predictor variables were considered. Finally, though we validated the models using split-sample replication techniques, we did not conduct an external validation study. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Given a wide range of predictor data, machine learning algorithms can be leveraged to analyze epidemiologic data and predict the probability of conception with discrimination that exceeds earlier work. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) The research was partially supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (under grants DMS-1664644, CNS-1645681 and IIS-1914792) and the National Institutes for Health (under grants R01 GM135930 and UL54 TR004130). In the last 3 years, L.A.W. has received in-kind donations for primary data collection in PRESTO from FertilityFriend.com, Kindara.com, Sandstone Diagnostics and Swiss Precision Diagnostics. L.A.W. also serves as a fibroid consultant to AbbVie, Inc. The other authors declare no competing interests. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER N/A.

Background:Sarcoidosis is a systemic and potentially severe disease (1). Its incidence varies widely worldwide.Objectives:The aim of this study was to estimate the sarcoidosis incidence in a Northern Spanish population-based cohort.Methods:All incident cases of sarcoidosis between January 1999 and December 2019 in a tertiary hospital were reviewed. Inclusion criteria were a) diagnosis of sarcoidosis according to ATS/ERS/WASOG (Eur Respir J. 1999; 14:735-7) and b) patients residing in our health region. Incidence between 1999 and 2019 was estimated by sex, age, and year of diagnosis.Results:From a total of 384 patients diagnosed with sarcoidosis, 234 (129 women/ 105 men) met the inclusion criteria and were finally included in the study. Mean age of the cohort at diagnosis was 48.43±14.83 years (46.95±14.50 in males; 49.63±15.04 in females, p=0.12). Annual incidence during 1999-2019 period was 3.56 per 100,000 population (3.32 per 100,000 in males and 3.72 per 100,000 in females). An upward trend in annual incidence over time was observed with rates ranging from 1.73 per 100,000 inhabitants in 1999 to 6.91 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2016 (Figure 1). Overall, sarcoidosis was predominantly diagnosed during middle adulthood. A bimodal distribution of age-specific incidence rates was observed in both sexes with two peaks in the age groups of 30-39 (4.98 per 100,000) and 60-69 years (5.12 per 100,000) in men, and in 40-49 (6.45 per 100,000) and 60-69 years (5.94 per 100,000) in women.Comparative studies with other regions are summarize in Table 1.Conclusion:A progressive increase in incident sarcoidosis is observed. The estimated incidence of sarcoidosis in this study (3.56 per 100,000) was like that of other Mediterranean countries (2). No gender predominance was observed. Demographics variations, changes in practice patters or diagnostic test improvements could explain the upward trend in sarcoidosis incidence detected in our study. Consistent with previous studies, male presented an incidence peak 10 years earlier than female (3-5).References:[1]Riancho-Zarrabeitia L, et al. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2014; 32(2): 275-84. PMID: 24321604[2]Brito-Zerón P, et al. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2019;37(6):1052–64.[3]Arkema E V., et al. Eur Respir J. 2016;48(6):1690-9.[4]Yoon H, et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2018;197(MeetingAbstracts):1-8.[5]Ungprasert P, et. Mayo Clin Proc. 2016 Feb;91(2):183-8.Figure 1.Annual incidence of sarcoidosis in 1999-2019 (A)Table 1.Sarcoidosis incidence rates reported in the literature.Study, yearCountry, data sourceTime periodIncident casesIncidence per 100,000 persons-yearPietinalho, 1995Finland, hospital database19841,37811.4Pietinalho, 1995Japan, Hokkaido, hospital database19842881.0Yigla, 2002Israel, hospital database1980-19961200.8Byg, 2003Denmark, Danish National Patient Registry1980-19945,5367.2Gribbin, 2006UK, Health Improvement Network1990-20031,0195.0Gillman, 2007Australia, Victoria, hospital database1995-20051224.4-6.3Haraldsdottir, 2007Iceland, hospital database1981-20032353.8Musellin, 2009Turkey, healthcare providers2004-20062934.0Deubelbeiss, 2010Switzerland, Swiss Federal Office for Statistics2002-20052,9257.0Kowalska, 2014Poland, Katowice, National Health Fund2006-20101,2173.8-4.5Arkema, 2016Sweden, National Patient Register2003-201310,78710.4-14.8Baughman, 2016USA, Optum Health Care Database2010-201329,372African American: 17.8; Caucasian: 8.1; Hispanic: 4.3; Asian: 3.2Duchemann, 2017France, Seine-Saint-Denise County20123614.9Škopljanac, 2017Croatia, Split- Dalmatia County, hospital database1986-20153183.1-3.4Yoon, 2018Korea, National Health Insurance2007-20164,7910.85Fidler, 2019Canada, Ontario, health administrative data1996-201518,5506.8-7.9Fernandez, 2011Spain, Leon, hospital database2001-20081184.51Present study, 2020Spain, Santander, hospital database1999-20192343.56Disclosure of Interests:Carmen Álvarez-Reguera: None declared, Raúl Fernández-Ramón: None declared, Jorge Javier Gaitán-Valdizán: None declared, José Luis Martín-Varillas: None declared, Lara Sanchez-Bilbao: None declared, David Martínez-López: None declared, Iñigo González-Mazón: None declared, Rosalía Demetrio-Pablo: None declared, Miguel Á. González-Gay Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi and MSD., Grant/research support from: Abbvie, MSD, Jansen and Roche, Ricardo Blanco Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Pfizer, Roche, Bristol-Myers, Janssen, Lilly and MSD., Grant/research support from: Abbvie, MSD and Roche.