Effects of mesenchymal stromal cells versus serum on tendon healing in a controlled experimental trial in an equine model

Abstract Background Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have shown promising results in the treatment of tendinopathy in equine medicine, making this therapeutic approach seem favorable for translation to human medicine. Having demonstrated that MSC engraft within the tendon lesions after local injection in an equine model, we hypothesized that they would improve tendon healing superior to serum injection alone. Methods Quadrilateral tendon lesions were induced in six horses by mechanical tissue disruption combined with collagenase application 3 weeks before treatment. Adipose-derived MSC suspended in serum or serum alone were then injected intralesionally. Clinical examinations, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging were performed over 24 weeks. Tendon biopsies for histological assessment were taken from the hindlimbs 3 weeks after treatment. Horses were sacrificed after 24 weeks and forelimb tendons were subjected to macroscopic and histological examination as well as analysis of musculoskeletal marker expression. Results Tendons injected with MSC showed a transient increase in inflammation and lesion size, as indicated by clinical and imaging parameters between week 3 and 6 (p < 0.05). Thereafter, symptoms decreased in both groups and, except that in MSC-treated tendons, mean lesion signal intensity as seen in T2w magnetic resonance imaging and cellularity as seen in the histology (p < 0.05) were lower, no major differences could be found at week 24. Conclusions These data suggest that MSC have influenced the inflammatory reaction in a way not described in tendinopathy studies before. However, at the endpoint of the current study, 24 weeks after treatment, no distinct improvement was observed in MSC-treated tendons compared to the serum-injected controls. Future studies are necessary to elucidate whether and under which conditions MSC are beneficial for tendon healing before translation into human medicine

Job Resources and Matching Active Coping Styles as Moderators of the Longitudinal Relation Between Job Demands and Job Strain

Background: Only in a few longitudinal studies it has been examined whether job resources should be matched to job demands to show stress-buffering effects of job resources (matching hypothesis), while there are no empirical studies in which the moderating effect of matching personal characteristics on the stress-buffering effect of job resources has been examined. Purpose: In this study, both the matching hypothesis and the moderating effect of matching active coping styles were examined with respect to the longitudinal relation between job demands, job resources, and job strain.Method: The study group consisted of 317 beginning teachers from Belgium. The two-wave survey data with a 1-year time lag were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling and multiple group analyses. Results: Data did not support the matching hypothesis. In addition, no support was found for the moderating effect of specific active coping styles, irrespective of the level of match. Conclusion: To show stress-buffering effects of job resources, it seems to make no difference whether or not specific types of job demands and job resources are matched, and whether or not individual differences in specific active coping styles are taken into account

Desenvolvimento de instrumento para medida dos fatores psicossociais determinantes do comportamento de atividade física em coronariopatas

Este estudo teve como objetivo apresentar o desenvolvimento, a análise de conteúdo e da confiabilidade do Questionário para identificação dos fatores psicossociais determinantes do comportamento de atividade física em coronariopatas, baseado na extensão da Teoria do Comportamento Planejado. O instrumento foi submetido à validade de conteúdo, com realização de sua avaliação por três juízes e pré-teste com cinco sujeitos, até mostrar-se conceitualmente adequado e compreensível aos sujeitos entrevistados. Foi aplicado em 51 sujeitos para a avaliação preliminar da consistência interna, por meio da determinação do coeficiente alfa de Crombach. Foram observados coeficientes alfa de Crombach >0,75 para os constructos Intenção, Atitude, Norma Subjetiva, Autoeficácia e Hábito. O instrumento desenvolvido mostrou evidências de validade de conteúdo e de confiabilidade.Este estudio tuvo como objetivo presentar el desarrollo, el análisis de contenido y de confiabilidad del Cuestionario para la identificación de los factores psicosociales determinantes del comportamiento de actividad física en pacientes afectados de coronariopatías, basado en la extensión de la Teoría del Comportamiento Planificado. Se sometió la validez del contenido del instrumento a la evaluación por parte de tres jueces y pre test con cinco sujetos, hasta mostrarse conceptualmente adecuado y comprensible para los sujetos entrevistados. Fue aplicado en 51 sujetos para la evaluación preliminar de consistencia interna, a través de la determinación del coeficiente Alfa de Cronbach. Fueron observados coeficientes Alfa de Cronbach >0,75 para los constructos Intención, Actitud, Norma Subjetiva, Autoeficacia y Hábito. El instrumento desarrollado evidenció la validez de su contenido, así como su confiabilidad.The aim of this study was to report the development and the analysis of content validity and reliability of the Psychosocial Determinants of Physical Activity among Coronary Heart Disease Patients Questionnaire, based on an extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior. In the content validity step, three experts evaluated the instrument which was, afterwards, pre-tested with five subjects in order to obtain a conceptually appropriate and easily understood instrument. Fifty-one patients participated in the evaluation of internal consistency of the reviewed instrument. Cronbach's alpha coefficients above 0.75 were observed for the constructs: Intention, Attitude, Subjective Norm, Self-efficacy and Habit. The new instrument demonstrated acceptable evidence of content validity and reliability

Effect of changes over time in the performance of a customized SAPS-II model on the quality of care assessment

Purpose: The aim of our study was to explore, using an innovative method, the effect of temporal changes in the mortality prediction performance of an existing model on the quality of care assessment. The prognostic model (rSAPS-II) was a recalibrated Simplified Acute Physiology Score-II model developed for very elderly Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. Methods: The study population comprised all 12,143 consecutive patients aged 80 years and older admitted between January 2004 and July 2009 to one of the ICUs of 21 Dutch hospitals. The prospective dataset was split into 30 equally sized consecutive subsets. Per subset, we measured the model's discrimination [area under the curve (AUC)], accuracy (Brier score), and standardized mortality ratio (SMR), both without and after repeated recalibration. All performance measures were considered to be stable if 1 without and after repeated recalibration for the year 2009. Results: For all subsets, the AUCs were stable, but the Brier scores and SMRs were not. The SMR was downtrending, achieving levels significantly below 1. Repeated recalibration rendered it stable again. The proportions of hospitals with SMR>1 and SMR <1 changed from 15 versus 85% to 35 versus 65%. Conclusions: Variability over time may markedly vary among different performance measures, and infrequent model recalibration can result in improper assessment of the quality of care in many hospitals. We stress the importance of the timely recalibration and repeated validation of prognostic models over tim

Spatial contrast sensitivity in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing (TD) controls underwent a rigorous psychophysical assessment that measured contrast sensitivity to seven spatial frequencies (0.5-20 cycles/degree). A contrast sensitivity function (CSF) was then fitted for each participant, from which four measures were obtained: visual acuity, peak spatial frequency, peak contrast sensitivity, and contrast sensitivity at a low spatial frequency. There were no group differences on any of the four CSF measures, indicating no differential spatial frequency processing in ASD. Although it has been suggested that detail-oriented visual perception in individuals with ASD may be a result of differential sensitivities to low versus high spatial frequencies, the current study finds no evidence to support this hypothesis

Evaluation of the ADOS Revised Algorithm: The Applicability in 558 Dutch Children and Adolescents

The revised ADOS algorithms, proposed by Gotham et al. (J Autism Dev Disord 37:613–627, 2007), were investigated in an independent sample of 558 Dutch children (modules 1, 2 and 3). The revised algorithms lead to better balanced sensitivity and specificity for modules 2 and 3, without losing efficiency of the classification. Including the restricted repetitive behaviour domain in the algorithm contributes to a clinical ASD classification in modules 2 and 3. For module 1, the results indicate less improvement, probably due to the low-functioning population. In most groups, the advantages of the revised algorithms are achieved without losing the strength of the original algorithm

Brief Depression Screening with the PHQ-2 Associated with Prognosis Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Paclitaxel-Eluting Stenting

BACKGROUND: Depression is associated with adverse prognosis in cardiac patients, warranting the availability of brief and valid instruments to identify depressed patients in clinical practice. OBJECTIVES: We examined whether the two-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) was associated with adverse events in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients treated with paclitaxel-eluting stenting (using the continuous score and various cutoffs), overall and by gender. DESIGN: Prospective follow-up study. PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive PCI patients (n=796) seen at a university medical centre. MEASUREMENTS: PHQ-2 at baseline. The study end-point was an adverse event, defined as a combination of death or non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) at follow-up (mean of 1.4 years). RESULTS: At follow-up, 47 patients had experienced an adverse event. Using the continuous score of the PHQ-2 and the recommended cutoff >= 3, depressive symptoms were not associated with adverse events (ps>0.05). Using a cutoff >= 2, depressive symptoms were significantly associated with adverse events (HR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.06-3.35) and remained significant in adjusted analysis (HR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.05-3.44). Depressive symptoms were associated with an increased risk of adverse events in men (HR: 2.69; 95% CI: 1.36-5.32) but not in women (HR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.24-2.43); these results remained in adjusted analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Depression screening with a two-item scale and a cutoff score of >= 2 was independently associated with adverse events at follow-up. The PHQ-2 is a brief and valid measure that can easily be used post PCI to identify patients at risk for adverse health outcomes

High Acute Myeloid Leukemia derived VEGFA levels are associated with a specific vascular morphology in the leukemic bone marrow

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) bone marrow biopsies at diagnosis display enhanced angiogenesis and increased VEGFA expression. In a xenograft mouse model it was described that availability of free VEGFA versus bound VEGFA is related to different vascular morphology. In this study we investigate the relationship between vascular morphology within AML bone marrow biopsies and AML derived VEGFA levels. Vessel count and surface area (Chalkley count) were calculated in AML bone marrow biopsies at diagnosis (n = 32), at remission (n = 8) and Normal Bone Marrow (n = 32) using immunohistochemical staining for FVIII, CD31, CTIV, SMA and VEGFA. VEGFA protein levels were measured. High vessel count was associated with an immature vessel status. Combining vessel count and Chalkley count different vessel morphology patterns were quantified within AML bone marrow biopsies. Three different subgroups could be distinguished. The subgroup (37.5% of the samples) exhibiting a high vessel count and vessels with predominantly large lumen (normal Chalkley count) was associated with high secreted VEGFA protein levels. Different vasculature patterns are seen in AML bone marrow biopsies, defined by combining number and size of vessel. These quantified morphology patterns, combined with VEGFA levels, might be of value in the success of VEGF/VEGFR-signaling interference approaches