Whole grains, legumes, and health

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Spillover of stress in a sample of married policemen.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 1966.The present study examined the relationships between the emotional effects of chronic stress at work (burnout) and the quality of family interactions. A systemic approach was adopted, leading to the use of the concept of spillover to describe the transmission of effects across the work-home interface. The relationship between burnout and family life was expected to be moderated by frequency of coping strategies and by size of social support network. Data was gathered from questionnaires distributed to married policemen and their wives in 13 stations and units in the Natal Midlands region of the SAPS. The fmal sample consisted of 84 policemen and 74 of their wives. The data was analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation, stepwise multiple regression, non-parametric tests, and content analysis of the free comment part of the questionnaire. The results of the study showed this sample of policemen to be experiencing relatively high levels of burnout and this was manifest particularly in terms of a diminished sense of personal accomplishment and feelings of negative self-evaluation. Specific sources of discontent for the policemen were frustrations with an unresponsive police hierarchy, low wages, and disruption to family life caused by overtime and irregular hours. Further results showed that those policemen experiencing the highest frequencies of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation were more likely to bring their work-related strain home with them in the form of upset and angry feelings, physical exhaustion, and complaints about problems at work. This process of Work-to-Home Spillover significantly predicted Quality of Family Life for the wives of such policemen. No moderator effects were shown for coping or social support, although those policemen with greater numbers of supporters were also more likely to experience a greater sense of personal accomplishment. These results were discussed in terms of the burnout and spillover literature, and were evaluated with due regard for the present socio-political context in South Africa. Recommendations were made pertaining to the provision of psychological services to SAPS members and their families, and to the need to eliminate the stigma attached to using such services

Osteoblast response to disordered nanotopography

The ability to influence stem cell differentiation is highly desirable as it would help us improve clinical outcomes for patients in various aspects. Many different techniques to achieve this have previously been investigated. This concise study, however, has focused on the topography on which cells grow. Current uncemented orthopaedic implants can fail if the implant fails to bind to the surrounding bone and, typically, forms a soft tissue interface which reduces direct bone contact. Here, we look at the effect of a previously reported nanotopography that utilises nanodisorder to influence mesenchymal stromal cell (as may be found in the bone marrow) differentiation towards bone and to also exert this effect on mature osteoblasts (as may be found in the bone). As topography is a physical technique, it can be envisaged for use in a range of materials such as polymers and metals used in the manufacture of orthopaedic implants

Consumer representation in financial services: report into consumer representation in the payments sector

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Dietary Supplementation with Soluble Plantain Non-Starch Polysaccharides Inhibits Intestinal Invasion of Salmonella Typhimurium in the Chicken

Soluble fibres (non-starch polysaccharides, NSP) from edible plants but particularly plantain banana (Musa spp.), have been shown in vitro and ex vivo to prevent various enteric pathogens from adhering to, or translocating across, the human intestinal epithelium, a property that we have termed contrabiotic. Here we report that dietary plantain fibre prevents invasion of the chicken intestinal mucosa by Salmonella. In vivo experiments were performed with chicks fed from hatch on a pellet diet containing soluble plantain NSP (0 to 200 mg/d) and orally infected with S.Typhimurium 4/74 at 8 d of age. Birds were sacrificed 3, 6 and 10 d post-infection. Bacteria were enumerated from liver, spleen and caecal contents. In vitro studies were performed using chicken caecal crypts and porcine intestinal epithelial cells infected with Salmonella enterica serovars following pre-treatment separately with soluble plantain NSP and acidic or neutral polysaccharide fractions of plantain NSP, each compared with saline vehicle. Bacterial adherence and invasion were assessed by gentamicin protection assay. In vivo dietary supplementation with plantain NSP 50 mg/d reduced invasion by S.Typhimurium, as reflected by viable bacterial counts from splenic tissue, by 98.9% (95% CI, 98.1–99.7; P<0.0001). In vitro studies confirmed that plantain NSP (5–10 mg/ml) inhibited adhesion of S.Typhimurium 4/74 to a porcine epithelial cell-line (73% mean inhibition (95% CI, 64–81); P<0.001) and to primary chick caecal crypts (82% mean inhibition (95% CI, 75–90); P<0.001). Adherence inhibition was shown to be mediated via an effect on the epithelial cells and Ussing chamber experiments with ex-vivo human ileal mucosa showed that this effect was associated with increased short circuit current but no change in electrical resistance. The inhibitory activity of plantain NSP lay mainly within the acidic/pectic (homogalacturonan-rich) component. Supplementation of chick feed with plantain NSP was well tolerated and shows promise as a simple approach for reducing invasive salmonellosis

The Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program Data Harmonization: Rationale for Data Elements and Standards

ObjectiveOne aim of the Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program is to develop an integrated model of chronic low back pain that is informed by combined data from translational research and clinical trials. We describe efforts to maximize data harmonization and accessibility to facilitate Consortium-wide analyses.MethodsConsortium-wide working groups established harmonized data elements to be collected in all studies and developed standards for tabular and nontabular data (eg, imaging and omics). The BACPAC Data Portal was developed to facilitate research collaboration across the Consortium.ResultsClinical experts developed the BACPAC Minimum Dataset with required domains and outcome measures to be collected by use of questionnaires across projects. Other nonrequired domain-specific measures are collected by multiple studies. To optimize cross-study analyses, a modified data standard was developed on the basis of the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium Study Data Tabulation Model to harmonize data structures and facilitate integration of baseline characteristics, participant-reported outcomes, chronic low back pain treatments, clinical exam, functional performance, psychosocial characteristics, quantitative sensory testing, imaging, and biomechanical data. Standards to accommodate the unique features of chronic low back pain data were adopted. Research units submit standardized study data to the BACPAC Data Portal, developed as a secure cloud-based central data repository and computing infrastructure for researchers to access and conduct analyses on data collected by or acquired for BACPAC.ConclusionsBACPAC harmonization efforts and data standards serve as an innovative model for data integration that could be used as a framework for other consortia with multiple, decentralized research programs