Expert consensus on the contraindications and cautions of foam rolling: an international delphi study

Background: Foam rolling is a type of self-massage using tools such as foam or roller sticks. However, to date, there is no consensus on contraindications and cautions of foam rolling. A methodological approach to narrow that research gap is to obtain reliable opinions of expert groups. The aim of the study was to develop experts’ consensus on contraindications and cautions of foam rolling by means of a Delphi process. Methods: An international three-round Delphi study was conducted. Academic experts, defined as having (co-) authored at least one PubMed-listed paper on foam rolling, were invited to participate. Rounds 1 and 2 involved generation and rating of a list of possible contraindications and cautions of foam rolling. In round 3, participants indicated their agreement on contraindications and cautions for a final set of conditions. Consensus was evaluated using a priori defined criteria. Consensus on contraindications and cautions was considered as reached if more than 70% of participating experts labeled the respective item as contraindication and contraindication or caution, respectively, in round 3. Results: In the final Delphi process round, responses were received from 37 participants. Panel participants were predominantly sports scientists ( n = 21), physiotherapists ( n = 6), and medical professionals ( n = 5). Consensus on contraindications was reached for open wounds (73% agreement) and bone fractures (84%). Consensus on cautions was achieved for local tissue inflammation (97%), deep vein thrombosis (97%), osteomyelitis (94%), and myositis ossificans (92%). The highest impact/severity of an adverse event caused by contraindication/cautions was estimated for bone fractures, deep vein thrombosis, and osteomyelitis. Discussion: The mechanical forces applied through foam rolling can be considered as potential threats leading to adverse events in the context of the identified contraindications and cautions. Further evaluations by medical professionals as well as the collection of clinical data are needed to assess the risks of foam rolling and to generate guidance for different applications and professional backgrounds

Phase transformation and characterization of 3D reactive microstructures in nanoscale Al/Ni multilayers

Reactive multilayer systems represent an innovative approach for potential usage in chip joining applications. As there are several factors governing the energy release rate and the stored chemical energy, the impact of the morphology and the microstructure on the reaction behavior is of great interest. In the current work, 3D reactive microstructures with nanoscale Al/Ni multilayers were produced by alternating deposition of pure Ni and Al films onto nanostructured Si substrates by magnetron sputtering. In order to elucidate the influence of this 3D morphology on the phase transformation process, the microstructure and the morphology of this system were characterized and compared with a flat reactive multilayer system on a flat Si wafer. The characterization of both systems was carried out before and after a rapid thermal annealing treatment by using scanning and transmission electron microscopy of the cross sections, selected area diffraction analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The bent shape of multilayers caused by the complex topography of silicon needles of the nanostructured substrate was found to favor the atomic diffusion at the early stage of phase transformation and the formation of two intermetallic phases Al0.42Ni0.58 and AlNi3, unlike the flat multilayers that formed a single phase AlNi after reaction

Forebrain-specific, conditional silencing of Staufen2 alters synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory in rats

Background: Dendritic messenger RNA (mRNA) localization and subsequent local translation in dendrites critically contributes to synaptic plasticity and learning and memory. Little is known, however, about the contribution of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) to these processes in vivo. Results: To delineate the role of the double-stranded RBP Staufen2 (Stau2), we generate a transgenic rat model, in which Stau2 expression is conditionally silenced by Cre-inducible expression of a microRNA (miRNA) targeting Stau2 mRNA in adult forebrain neurons. Known physiological mRNA targets for Stau2, such as RhoA, Complexin 1, and Rgs4 mRNAs, are found to be dysregulated in brains of Stau2-deficient rats. In vivo electrophysiological recordings reveal synaptic strengthening upon stimulation, showing a shift in the frequency-response function of hippocampal synaptic plasticity to favor long-term potentiation and impair long-term depression in Stau2-deficient rats. These observations are accompanied by deficits in hippocampal spatial working memory, spatial novelty detection, and in tasks investigating associative learning and memory. Conclusions: Together, these experiments reveal a critical contribution of Stau2 to various forms of synaptic plasticity including spatial working memory and cognitive management of new environmental information. These findings might contribute to the development of treatments for conditions associated with learning and memory deficits

Forebrain-specific, conditional silencing of Staufen2 alters synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory in rats

© The Author(s).[Background]: Dendritic messenger RNA (mRNA) localization and subsequent local translation in dendrites critically contributes to synaptic plasticity and learning and memory. Little is known, however, about the contribution of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) to these processes in vivo. [Results]: To delineate the role of the double-stranded RBP Staufen2 (Stau2), we generate a transgenic rat model, in which Stau2 expression is conditionally silenced by Cre-inducible expression of a microRNA (miRNA) targeting Stau2 mRNA in adult forebrain neurons. Known physiological mRNA targets for Stau2, such as RhoA, Complexin 1, and Rgs4 mRNAs, are found to be dysregulated in brains of Stau2-deficient rats. In vivo electrophysiological recordings reveal synaptic strengthening upon stimulation, showing a shift in the frequency-response function of hippocampal synaptic plasticity to favor long-term potentiation and impair long-term depression in Stau2-deficient rats. These observations are accompanied by deficits in hippocampal spatial working memory, spatial novelty detection, and in tasks investigating associative learning and memory. [Conclusions]: Together, these experiments reveal a critical contribution of Stau2 to various forms of synaptic plasticity including spatial working memory and cognitive management of new environmental information. These findings might contribute to the development of treatments for conditions associated with learning and memory deficits.This study was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Competitiveness (BFU2014-56692-R to AG and JMD-G) and the Junta de Andalucía (Spain; BIO-122, CVI-02487, and P07-CVI-02686 to AG and JMD-G), from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007- 2013 to AG and DB) under grant agreement number 201714 (DEVANX), from the Austrian Science Fund (SFB-F43 to MAK) and the DFG (FOR2333 to MAK; SPP-1738 to MAK and DB). RS is a Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds fellow

Effect of Hospital and Surgeon Case Volume on Perioperative Quality of Care and Short-term Outcomes After Radical Cystectomy for Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer: Results From a European Tertiary Care Center Cohort

This prospective multicenter study analyzed the effect of hospital and surgeon case volume on perioperative quality of care and short-term complications and mortality in 479 patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. We found that hospital volume might represent an at least equally important factor regarding postoperative complications as the surgeon case volume itself at European tertiary care centers. Background Case volume has been suggested to affect surgical outcomes in different arrays of procedures. We aimed to delineate the relationship between case volume and surgical outcomes and quality of care criteria of radical cystectomy (RC) in a prospectively collected multicenter cohort. Patients and Methods This was a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected European cohort of patients with bladder cancer treated with RC in 2011. We relied on 479 and 459 eligible patients with available information on hospital case volume and surgeon case volume, respectively. Hospital case volume was divided into tertiles, and surgeon volume was dichotomized according to the median annual number of surgeries performed. Binomial generalized estimating equations controlling for potential known confounders and inter-hospital clustering assessed the independent association of case volume with short-term complications and mortality, as well as the fulfillment of quality of care criteria. Results The high-volume threshold for hospitals was 45 RCs and, for high-volume surgeons, was > 15 cases annually. In adjusted analyses, high hospital volume remained an independent predictor of fewer 30-day (odds ratio, 0.34; P = .002) and 60- to 90-day (odds ratio, 0.41; P = .03) major complications but not of fulfilling quality of care criteria or mortality. No difference between surgeon volume groups was noted for complications, quality of care criteria, or mortality after adjustments. Conclusion The coordination of care at high-volume hospitals might confer a similar important factor in postoperative outcomes as surgeon case volume in RC. This points to organizational elements in high-volume hospitals that enable them to react more appropriately to adverse events after surgery. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved