Gene expression and matrix turnover in overused and damaged tendons

Chronic, painful conditions affecting tendons, frequently known as tendinopathy, are very common types of sporting injury. The tendon extracellular matrix is substantially altered in tendinopathy, and these changes are thought to precede and underlie the clinical condition. The tendon cell response to repeated minor injuries or “overuse” is thought to be a major factor in the development of tendinopathy. Changes in matrix turnover may also be effected by the cellular response to physical load, altering the balance of matrix turnover and changing the structure and composition of the tendon. Matrix turnover is relatively high in tendons exposed to high mechanical demands, such as the supraspinatus and Achilles, and this is thought to represent either a repair or tissue maintenance function. Metalloproteinases are a large family of enzymes capable of degrading all of the tendon matrix components, and these are thought to play a major role in the degradation of matrix during development, adaptation and repair. It is proposed that some metalloproteinase enzymes are required for the health of the tendon, and others may be damaging, leading to degeneration of the tissue. Further research is required to investigate how these enzyme activities are regulated in tendon and altered in tendinopathy. A profile of all the metalloproteinases expressed and active in healthy and degenerate tendon is required and may lead to the development of new drug therapies for these common and debilitating sports injuries

Intraoperative device closure of atrial septal defects in the Older Population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>This study sought to prove the safety and feasibility of intraoperative device closure of atrial septal defect (ASD) with transthoracic minimal invasion in the older patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>From January 2006 to December 2009, 47 patients aged 50 years or more and suffered from atrial septal defect were enrolled in our institution. Patients were divided into two groups, 27 of which in group I with intraoperative device closure and the other 20 in group II with surgical closure. In group I, the method involved a minimal intercostal incision, which was performed after full evaluation of the atrial septal defect by transthoracic echocardiography, and the insertion of the device through the delivery sheath to occlude the atrial septal defect.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In group I, implantation was ultimately successful in all patients. The complete closure rate at 24 hours and 1 year were 81.5% and 100% respectively. In 6 of 27 patients, minor complications occurred: transient arrhythmia (n = 5) and blood transfusion (n = 3). In group II, all patients were closured successfully; almost all of them needed blood transfusion and suffered from various minor complications though. During a follow-up period of 1 to 5 years, no residual shunt, noticeable mitral regurgitation, significant arrhythmias, thrombosis, or device failure were found. In our comparative studies, group II had significantly longer ICU stay and hospital stay than group I (p < 0.05). The cost of group I was less than that of group II(p < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Minimally invasive transthoracic device closure of the atrial septal defect at advanced age with a domestically made device without cardiopulmonary bypass is safe and feasible under transthoracic echocardiographic guidance. It was cost-savings, yielding better cosmetic results and leaving fewer traumas than surgical closure. Early and mid-term results are encouraging. However, it is necessary to evaluate the long-term results.</p

Different sex ratios of children born to Indian and Pakistani immigrants in Norway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A low female-to-male ratio has been observed in different Asian countries, but this phenomenon has not been well studied among immigrants living in Western societies. In this study, we investigated whether a low female-to-male ratio exists among Indian and Pakistani immigrants living in Norway. In particular, we investigated whether the determination of sex via ultrasound examination, a common obstetric procedure that has been used in Norway since the early 1980 s, has influenced the female-to-male ratio among children born to parents of Indian or Pakistani origin.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed a retrospective cohort study of live births in mothers of Indian (n = 1597) and Pakistani (n = 5617) origin. Data were obtained from "Statistics Norway" and the female-to-male (F/M) sex ratio was evaluated among 21,325 children born, in increasing birth order, during three stratified periods (i.e., 1969-1986, 1987-1996, and 1997-2005).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A significant low female-to-male sex ratio was observed among children in the third and fourth birth order (sex ratio 65; 95% CI 51-80) from mothers of Indian origin who gave birth after 1987. Sex ratios did not deviate from the expected natural variation in the Indian cohort from 1969 to 1986, and remained stable in the Pakistani cohort during the entire study period. However, the female-to-male sex ratio seemed less skewed in recent years (i.e., 1997-2005).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Significant differences were observed in the sex ratio of children born to mothers of Indian origin compared with children born to mothers of Pakistani origin. A skewed number of female births among higher birth orders (i.e., third or later) may partly reflect an increase in sex-selective abortion among mothers of Indian origin, although the numbers are too small to draw firm conclusions. Further research is needed to explain the observed differences in the female-to-male ratio among members of these ethnic groups who reside in Norway.</p

Histone deacetylase inhibitors in Hodgkin lymphoma

Although Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is considered one of the most curable human cancers, the treatment of patients with relapsed and refractory disease, especially those who relapse after autologous stem cell transplantation, remains challenging. Furthermore, because of the young age of these patients, the impact of early mortality on the number of years lost from productive life is remarkable. Patients with relapsed HL post stem cell transplantation currently have no curative therapy, and are in need for new drugs and novel treatment strategies. While no new drugs have been approved for the treatment of patients with HL in more than three decades, several new agents are demonstrating promising results in early clinical trials. This review will focus on the emerging role of histone deacetylase inhibitors in patients with relapsed HL

Self-management support intervention to control cancer pain in the outpatient setting: a randomized controlled trial study protocol

Background: Pain is a prevalent and distressing symptom in patients with cancer, having an enormous impact on functioning and quality of life. Fragmentation of care, inadequate pain communication, and reluctance towards pain medication contribute to difficulties in optimizing outcomes. Integration of patient self-management and professional care by means of healthcare technology provides new opportunities in the outpatient setting. Methods/Design: This study protocol outlines a two-armed multicenter randomized controlled trial that compares a technology based multicomponent self-management support intervention with care as usual and includes an effect, economic and process evaluation. Patients will be recruited consecutively via the outpatient oncology clinics and inpatient oncology wards of one academic hospital and one regional hospital in the south of the Netherlands. Irrespective of the stage of disease, patients are eligible when they are diagnosed with cancer and have uncontrolled moderate to severe cancer (treatment) related pain defined as NRS ≥ 4 for more than two weeks. Randomization (1:1) will assign patients to either the intervention or control group; patients in the intervention group receive self-management support and patients in the control group receive care as usual. The intervention will be delivered by registered nurses specialized in pain and palliative care. Important components include monitoring of pain, adverse effects and medication as well as graphical feedback, education, and nurse support. Effect measurements for both groups will be carried out with questionnaires at baseline (T0), after 4 weeks (T1) and after 12 weeks (T2). Pain intensity and quality of life are the primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes include self-efficacy, knowledge, anxiety, depression and pain medication use. The final questionnaire contains also questions for the economic evaluation that includes both cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis. Data for the process evaluation will be gathered continuously over the study period and focus on recruitment, reach, dose delivered and dose received. Discussion: The proposed study will provide insight into the effectiveness of the self-management support intervention delivered by nurses to outpatients with uncontrolled cancer pain. Study findings will be used to empower patients and health professionals to improve cancer pain control. Trial registration: NCT02333968 December 29, 201

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Direct and indirect effects of soil fauna, fungi and plants on greenhouse gas fluxes

Soils harbour diverse soil fauna and a wide range of soil microorganisms. These fauna and microorganisms directly contribute to soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes via their respiratory and metabolic activities and indirectly by changing the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils through bioturbation, fragmentation and redistribution of plant residues, defecation, soil aggregate formation, herbivory, and grazing on microorganisms and fungi. Based on recent results, the methods and results found in relation to fauna as well as from fungi and plants are presented. The approaches are outlined, and the significance of these hitherto ignored fluxes is discussed

Integrated high-content quantification of intracellular ROS levels and mitochondrial morphofunction

Oxidative stress arises from an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their removal by cellular antioxidant systems. Especially under pathological conditions, mitochondria constitute a relevant source of cellular ROS. These organelles harbor the electron transport chain, bringing electrons in close vicinity to molecular oxygen. Although a full understanding is still lacking, intracellular ROS generation and mitochondrial function are also linked to changes in mitochondrial morphology. To study the intricate relationships between the different factors that govern cellular redox balance in living cells, we have developed a high-contentmicroscopy-based strategy for simultaneous quantification of intracellular ROS levels and mitochondrial morphofunction. Here, we summarize the principles of intracellular ROS generation and removal, and we explain the major considerations for performing quantitative microscopy analyses of ROS and mitochondrial morphofunction in living cells. Next, we describe our workflow, and finally, we illustrate that a multiparametric readout enables the unambiguous classification of chemically perturbed cells as well as laminopathy patient cells