Reliability and validity of the cross-culturally adapted French version of the Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI) in patients with low back pain

Purpose: To conduct a cross-cultural adaptation of the Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI) into French according to established guidelines. Methods: Seventy outpatients with chronic low back pain were recruited from six spine centres in Switzerland and France. They completed the newly translated COMI, and the Roland Morris disability (RMQ), Dallas Pain (DPQ), adjectival pain rating scale, WHO Quality of Life, and EuroQoL-5D questionnaires. After ~14days RMQ and COMI were completed again to assess reproducibility; a transition question (7-point Likert scale; "very much worse” through "no change” to "very much better”) indicated any change in status since the first questionnaire. Results: COMI whole scores displayed no floor effects and just 1.5% ceiling effects. The scores for the individual COMI items correlated with their corresponding full-length reference questionnaire with varying strengths of correlation (0.33-0.84, P<0.05). COMI whole scores showed a very good correlation with the "multidimensional” DPQ global score (Rho=0.71). 55 patients (79%) returned a second questionnaire with no/minimal change in their back status. The reproducibility of individual COMI 5-point items was good, with test-retest differences within one grade ranging from 89% for ‘social/work disability' to 98% for ‘symptom-specific well-being'. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the COMI whole score was 0.85 (95% CI 0.76-0.91). Conclusions: In conclusion, the French version of this short, multidimensional questionnaire showed good psychometric properties, comparable to those reported for German and Spanish versions. The French COMI represents a valuable tool for future multicentre clinical studies and surgical registries (e.g. SSE Spine Tango) in French-speaking countrie

A critical appraisal of guidelines for the management of knee osteoarthritis using Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation criteria

Clinical practice guidelines have been elaborated to summarize evidence related to the management of knee osteoarthritis and to facilitate uptake of evidence-based knowledge by clinicians. The objectives of the present review were summarizing the recommendations of existing guidelines on knee osteoarthritis, and assessing the quality of the guidelines using a standardized and validated instrument – the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation (AGREE) tool. Internet medical literature databases from 2001 to 2006 were searched for guidelines, with six guidelines being identified. Thirteen clinician researchers participated in the review. Each reviewer was trained in the AGREE instrument. The guidelines were distributed to four groups of three or four reviewers, each group reviewing one guideline with the exception of one group that reviewed two guidelines. One independent evaluator reviewed all guidelines. All guidelines effectively addressed only a minority of AGREE domains. Clarity/presentation was effectively addressed in three out of six guidelines, scope/purpose and rigour of development in two guidelines, editorial independence in one guideline, and stakeholder involvement and applicability in none. The clinical management recommendation tended to be similar among guidelines, although interventions addressed varied. Acetaminophen was recommended for initial pain treatment, combined with exercise and education. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were recommended if acetaminophen failed to control pain, but cautiously because of gastrointestinal risks. Surgery was recommended in the presence of persistent pain and disability. Education and activity management interventions were superficially addressed in most guidelines. Guideline creators should use the AGREE criteria when developing guidelines. Innovative and effective methods of knowledge translation to health professionals are needed

Characterization of pandemic influenza immune memory signature after vaccination or infection

International audienceThe magnitude, quality, and maintenance of immunological memory after infection or vaccination must be considered for future design of effective influenza vaccines. In 2009, the influenza pandemic produced disease that ranged from mild to severe, even fatal, illness in infected healthy adults and led to vaccination of a portion of the population with the adjuvanted, inactivated influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine. Here, we have proposed a multi-parameter quantitative and qualitative approach to comparing adaptive immune memory to influenza 1 year after mild or severe infection or vaccination. One year after antigen encounter, severely ill subjects maintained high levels of humoral and polyfunctional effector/memory CD4$^+$ T cells responses, while mildly ill and vaccinated subjects retained strong cellular immunity, as indicated by high levels of mucosal homing and degranulation markers on IFN-$\gamma^+$ antigen-specific T cells. A principal component analysis distinguished 3 distinct clusters of individuals. The first group comprised vaccinated and mildly ill subjects, while clusters 2 and 3 included mainly infected individuals. Each cluster had immune memory profiles that differed in magnitude and quality. These data provide evidence that there are substantial similarities between the antiinfluenza response that mildly ill and vaccinated individuals develop and that this immune memory signature is different from that seen in severely ill individuals

Validity of the French version of the Core Outcome Measures Index for low back pain patients: a prospective cohort study

Purpose: Among the many questionnaires available to evaluate low back pain (LBP) patients, the Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI) has the unique advantage to investigate five dimensions using seven short questions. The aim of this study was to explore additional properties of the questionnaire in a French-speaking non-surgical population. Methods: This study was conducted on 168 patients suffering from subacute or chronic LBP and followed up for 6months in three French-speaking countries. In addition to basic psychometric properties (e.g., construct validity, floor and ceiling effect, reproducibility), internal validity was analyzed by a factor analysis using Cronbach's alpha. Responsiveness and sensitivity to change were assessed through minimal detectable change (MDC), effect size, and Minimal Clinically Important Improvement (MCII). We used an anchor-based method with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to assess MCII and the Patient Acceptable Symptom State. Results: Construct validity, reliability (Cronbach's alpha=0.87), reproducibility and the absence of floor and ceiling effects were confirmed. Factor analysis indicated a one-dimensional construct that validates the use of a sum score. The MDC (2.1) was inferior to the MCII (2.3). The limit below which the patient claims to be in a fair condition (Patient Acceptable Symptom State) was set at 3. Conclusions: The COMI is a self-report questionnaire with the capacity to easily and quickly explore several dimensions in patients with LBP that can be then summarized in a meaningful sum score. Additional knowledge provided by our study should encourage the widespread use of the COMI among the spine community

Forewarned is forearmed : harmonized approaches for early detection of potentially invasive pests and pathogens in sentinel plantings

This work was supported by COST Action Global Warning (FP1401). DLM and YB contribution was also supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No. 17-04-01486). MG was supported by Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, Grant III43002. MKA was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland. NK was supported by Le Studium foundation (France) and RFBR (Grant No. 19-04-01029). RE, IF and MK contribution was also supported by CABI with core financial support from its member countries (see http://www.cabi.org/about-cabi/who-we-work-with/key-donors/ for details). IF contribution was further supported through a grant from the Swiss State Secretariat for Science, Education and Research (Grant C15.0081, awarded to RE).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Comprehensive genetic dissection of wood properties in a widely-grown tropical tree: Eucalyptus

Background: Eucalyptus is an important genus in industrial plantations throughout the world and is grown for use as timber, pulp, paper and charcoal. Several breeding programmes have been launched worldwide to concomitantly improve growth performance and wood properties (WPs). In this study, an interspecific cross between Eucalyptus urophylla and E. grandis was used to identify major genomic regions (Quantitative Trait Loci, QTL) controlling the variability of WPs. Results: Linkage maps were generated for both parent species. A total of 117 QTLs were detected for a series of wood and end-use related traits, including chemical, technological, physical, mechanical and anatomical properties. The QTLs were mainly clustered into five linkage groups. In terms of distribution of QTL effects, our result agrees with the typical L-shape reported in most QTL studies, i.e. most WP QTLs had limited effects and only a few (13) had major effects (phenotypic variance explained &gt; 15%). The co-locations of QTLs for different WPs as well as QTLs and candidate genes are discussed in terms of phenotypic correlations between traits, and of the function of the candidate genes. The major wood property QTL harbours a gene encoding a Cinnamoyl CoA reductase (CCR), a structural enzyme of the monolignol-specific biosynthesis pathway. Conclusions: Given the number of traits analysed, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the genetic architecture of wood properties in this Eucalyptus full-sib pedigree. At the dawn of Eucalyptus genome sequence, it will provide a framework to identify the nature of genes underlying these important quantitative traits. (Résumé d'auteur

Climate, host and geography shape insect and fungal communities of trees.

Non-native pests, climate change, and their interactions are likely to alter relationships between trees and tree-associated organisms with consequences for forest health. To understand and predict such changes, factors structuring tree-associated communities need to be determined. Here, we analysed the data consisting of records of insects and fungi collected from dormant twigs from 155 tree species at 51 botanical gardens or arboreta in 32 countries. Generalized dissimilarity models revealed similar relative importance of studied climatic, host-related and geographic factors on differences in tree-associated communities. Mean annual temperature, phylogenetic distance between hosts and geographic distance between locations were the major drivers of dissimilarities. The increasing importance of high temperatures on differences in studied communities indicate that climate change could affect tree-associated organisms directly and indirectly through host range shifts. Insect and fungal communities were more similar between closely related vs. distant hosts suggesting that host range shifts may facilitate the emergence of new pests. Moreover, dissimilarities among tree-associated communities increased with geographic distance indicating that human-mediated transport may serve as a pathway of the introductions of new pests. The results of this study highlight the need to limit the establishment of tree pests and increase the resilience of forest ecosystems to changes in climate

Climate, host and geography shape insect and fungal communities of trees

13 Pág.Non-native pests, climate change, and their interactions are likely to alter relationships between trees and tree-associated organisms with consequences for forest health. To understand and predict such changes, factors structuring tree-associated communities need to be determined. Here, we analysed the data consisting of records of insects and fungi collected from dormant twigs from 155 tree species at 51 botanical gardens or arboreta in 32 countries. Generalized dissimilarity models revealed similar relative importance of studied climatic, host-related and geographic factors on differences in tree-associated communities. Mean annual temperature, phylogenetic distance between hosts and geographic distance between locations were the major drivers of dissimilarities. The increasing importance of high temperatures on differences in studied communities indicate that climate change could affect tree-associated organisms directly and indirectly through host range shifts. Insect and fungal communities were more similar between closely related vs. distant hosts suggesting that host range shifts may facilitate the emergence of new pests. Moreover, dissimilarities among tree-associated communities increased with geographic distance indicating that human-mediated transport may serve as a pathway of the introductions of new pests. The results of this study highlight the need to limit the establishment of tree pests and increase the resilience of forest ecosystems to changes in climate.We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Swiss National Science Foundation (Project C15.0081) Grant 174644 and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment Grant 00.0418.PZ/P193-1077. This work was supported by COST Action “Global Warning” (FP1401). CABI is an international intergovernmental organisation, and R.E., M.K., H.L. and I.F. gratefully acknowledge the core financial support from our member countries (and lead agencies) including the United Kingdom (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), China (Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Australia (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research), Canada (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), Netherlands (Directorate General for International Cooperation), and Switzerland (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation). See https://www.cabi.org/aboutcabi/who-we-work-with/key-donors/ for full details. M.B. and M.K.H. were financially supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency (Project APVV-19-0116). H.B. would like to thank the botanist Jorge Capelo who helped with Myrtaceae identification and INIAV IP for supporting her contribution to this study. Contributions of M. de G. and B.P. were financed through Slovenian Research Agency (P4-0107) and by the Slovenian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food (Public Forestry Service). G.C, C.B.E. and A.F.M. were supported by OTKA 128008 research grant provided by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office. Contributions of K.A. and R.D. were supported by the Estonian Research Council grants PSG136 and PRG1615. M.J.J., C.L.M. and H.P.R. were financially supported by the 15. Juni Fonden (Grant 2017-N-123). P.B., B.G. and M.Ka. were financially supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland for the University of Agriculture in Krakow (SUB/040013-D019). C.N. was financially supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency (Grant APVV-15-0531). N.K. was partially supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant № 22-16-00075) [species identification] and the basic project of Sukachev Institute of Forest SB RAS (№ FWES-2021-0011) [data analysis]. R.OH. was supported by funding from DAERA, and assistance from David Craig, AFBI. T.P. thanks the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) for funding noting that this publication does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of DFFE or its employees. In preparing the publication, materials of the bioresource scientific collection of the CSBG SB RAS “Collections of living plants indoors and outdoors” USU_440534 (Novosibirsk, Russia) were used. M.Z. was financially supported by Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia (contract no. 451-03-47/2023-01/200197). We acknowledge the Genetic Diversity Centre (GDC) at ETH Zurich for providing computational infrastructure and acknowledge the contribution of McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Center (Montréal, Quebec, Canada) for pair-end sequencing on Illumina MiSeq. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewe