Co-Creative Action Research Experiments—A Careful Method for Causal Inference and Societal Impact

The rigor-versus-relevance debate in the world of academia is, by now, an old-time classic that does not seem to go away so easily. The grassroots movement Responsible Research in Business and Management, for instance, is a very active and prominent advocate of the need to change current research practices in the management domain, broadly defined. One of its main critiques is that current research practices are not apt to address day-to-day management challenges, nor do they allow such management challenges to feed into academic research. In this paper, we address this issue, and present a research design, referred to as CARE, that is aimed at building a bridge from rigor to relevance, and vice versa. In so doing, we offer a template for conducting rigorous research with immediate impact, contributing to solving issues that businesses are struggling with through a design that facilitates causal inference

Ultrasound-Based Quantification of Cartilage Damage After In Vivo Articulation With Metal Implants

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the applicability of the ultrasound roughness index (URI) for quantitative assessment of cartilage quality ex vivo (post-mortem), after 6 months of in vivo articulation with a Focal Knee Resurfacing Implant (FKRI). DESIGN: Goats received a metal FKRI (n = 8) or sham surgery (n = 8) in the medial femoral condyles. After 6 months animals were sacrificed, tibial plateaus were stained with Indian ink, and macroscopic scoring of the plateaus was performed based on the ink staining. The URI was calculated from high-frequency ultrasound images at several sections, covering both areas that articulated with the implant and non-articulating areas. Cartilage quality at the most damaged medial location was evaluated with a Modified Mankin Score (MMS). RESULTS: The URI was significantly higher in the FKRI-articulating than in the sham plateaus at medial articulating sections, but not at sections that were not in direct contact with the implant, for example, under the meniscus. The mean macroscopic score and MMS were significantly higher in the FKRI-articulating group than in the sham group ( [Formula: see text] , [Formula: see text] , respectively). Correlation coefficients between URI and macroscopic score were significant in medial areas that articulated with the implant. A significant correlation between URI and MMS was found at the most damaged medial location ( [Formula: see text] ). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the potential of URI to evaluate cartilage roughness and altered surface morphology after in vivo articulation with a metal FKRI, rendering it a promising future tool for quantitative follow-up assessment of cartilage quality

Cartilage repair strategies in the knee according to Dutch Orthopedic Surgeons: a survey study

BackgroundThis study surveyed Dutch orthopedic surgeons on the management of cartilage defects in the knee and the adherence to the recently updated Dutch knee cartilage repair consensus statement (DCS).MethodsA web-based survey was sent to 192 Dutch knee specialists.ResultsThe response rate was 60%. Microfracture, debridement and osteochondral autografts are performed by the majority, 93%, 70% and 27% of respondents, respectively. Complex techniques are used by 80%) but also in 2-3 cm(2) (by > 40%). Concomitant procedures, e.g., malalignment corrections, are performed by 89%. Twenty-one percent of surgeons treat patients aged 40-60 years. Microfracture, debridement and autologous chondrocyte implantation are not considered to be highly affected by age > 40 years by any of the respondents (0-3%). Moreover, for the middle-aged there is a large spread in treatments considered. In case of loose bodies, the majority (84%) only performs refixation in the presence of attached bone.ConclusionSmall cartilage defects in ideal patients may be well treated by general orthopedic surgeons. The matter becomes complicated in older patients, or in case of larger defects or malalignment. The current study reveals some knowledge gaps for these more complex patients. Referral to tertiary centers might be indicated, as is stated by the DCS, and this centralization should enhance knee joint preservation. Since the data from present study are subjective, registration of all separate cartilage repair cases should fuel objective analysis of clinical practice and adherence to the DCS in the future

Co-Creative Action Research Experiments -: A Careful Method for Causal Inference and Societal Impact

The rigor-versus-relevance debate in the world of academia is, by now, an old-time classic that does not seem to go away so easily. The grassroots movement Responsible Research in Business and Management, for instance, is a very active and prominent advocate of the need to change current research practices in the management domain, broadly defined. One of its main critiques is that current research practices are not apt to address day-to-day management challenges, nor do they allow such management challenges to feed into academic research. In this paper, we address this issue, and present a research design, referred to as CARE, that is aimed at building a bridge from rigor to relevance, and vice versa. In so doing, we offer a template for conducting rigorous research with immediate impact, contributing to solving issues that businesses are struggling with through a design that facilitates causal inference

Show your best self(ie):An exploratory study on selfie-related motivations and behavior in emerging adulthood

Although self-presentation has been studied for decades, social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook have produced novel opportunities for visual online self-presentation. Posting selfies is currently a popular mode of consciously constructing visual online self-presentations, yet most prior research is limited to selfie-posting alone. This study aimed to profile selfie-makers' motivations and behavior, and examine the extent to which underlying mechanisms preceding selfie-posting are interconnected. Results of a survey (N = 224; 79.9% females; M = 21.66, SDage = 2.08) regarding selfie-behavior on SNS (e.g., Facebook and Instagram) characterized selfie-makers in emerging adulthood as mainly concerned with the social aspects of selfies. Entertainment and moment-retention were identified as main motivations for selfie-making. Findings supported the proposed Selfie-Stadium Model, representing various steps of selfie-taking and underlying motives as well as selection and editing before actual posting. This study on profiling selfie-makers and their self-presentation taps into a fairly new media use research domain

Drug Repurposing for Cystic Fibrosis: Identification of Drugs That Induce CFTR-Independent Fluid Secretion in Nasal Organoids

Individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) suffer from severe respiratory disease due to a genetic defect in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, which impairs airway epithelial ion and fluid secretion. New CFTR modulators that restore mutant CFTR function have been recently approved for a large group of people with CF (pwCF), but similar to 19% of pwCF cannot benefit from CFTR modulators Restoration of epithelial fluid secretion through non-CFTR pathways might be an effective treatment for all pwCF. Here, we developed a medium-throughput 384-well screening assay using nasal CF airway epithelial organoids, with the aim to repurpose FDA-approved drugs as modulators of non-CFTR-dependent epithelial fluid secretion. From a similar to 1400 FDA-approved drug library, we identified and validated 12 FDA-approved drugs that induced CFTR-independent fluid secretion. Among the hits were several cAMP-mediating drugs, including beta 2-adrenergic agonists. The hits displayed no effects on chloride conductance measured in the Ussing chamber, and fluid secretion was not affected by TMEM16A, as demonstrated by knockout (KO) experiments in primary nasal epithelial cells. Altogether, our results demonstrate the use of primary nasal airway cells for medium-scale drug screening, target validation with a highly efficient protocol for generating CRISPR-Cas9 KO cells and identification of compounds which induce fluid secretion in a CFTR- and TMEM16A-indepent manner

Drug Repurposing for Cystic Fibrosis: Identification of Drugs That Induce CFTR-Independent Fluid Secretion in Nasal Organoids

Individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) suffer from severe respiratory disease due to a genetic defect in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, which impairs airway epithelial ion and fluid secretion. New CFTR modulators that restore mutant CFTR function have been recently approved for a large group of people with CF (pwCF), but ~19% of pwCF cannot benefit from CFTR modulators Restoration of epithelial fluid secretion through non-CFTR pathways might be an effective treatment for all pwCF. Here, we developed a medium-throughput 384-well screening assay using nasal CF airway epithelial organoids, with the aim to repurpose FDA-approved drugs as modulators of non-CFTR-dependent epithelial fluid secretion. From a ~1400 FDA-approved drug library, we identified and validated 12 FDA-approved drugs that induced CFTR-independent fluid secretion. Among the hits were several cAMP-mediating drugs, including β2-adrenergic agonists. The hits displayed no effects on chloride conductance measured in the Ussing chamber, and fluid secretion was not affected by TMEM16A, as demonstrated by knockout (KO) experiments in primary nasal epithelial cells. Altogether, our results demonstrate the use of primary nasal airway cells for medium-scale drug screening, target validation with a highly efficient protocol for generating CRISPR-Cas9 KO cells and identification of compounds which induce fluid secretion in a CFTR- and TMEM16A-indepent manner