The interplay of Criterion A of the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders, mentalization and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background and aims: The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a worsening of mental health levels in some, while others manage to adapt or recover relatively quickly. Transdiagnostic factors such as personality functioning are thought to be involved in determining mental health outcomes. The present study focused on two constructs of personality functioning, Criterion A of the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD, DSM-5) and mentalization, as predictors of depressive symptoms and life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. A second focus of the study was to examine whether this relationship was mediated by resilience. Methods: Linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between personality functioning measured by Criterion A (AMPD, DSM-5) and mentalizing abilities as predictors, and depression and life satisfaction as mental health outcomes. To assess the hypothesis that this relationship is mediated by resilience a structural equation modeling approach was conducted. Data from N = 316 individuals from the general population were collected. Results: Linear regression models revealed highly significant associations between Criterion A/mentalization and both outcome measures. Structural equation models showed a significant partial mediation by resilience of these relationships. Conclusion: Our results support the hypothesis that mentalizing serves as a protective function by promoting resilience to the impact of stress and threats. Criterion A and mentalization performed similarly as predictors of mental health outcomes, providing empirically overlapping operationalizations of personality functioning. This finding emphasizes the importance of personality functioning in positive and negative mental health outcomes. Furthermore, our results are consistent with a mediating role of resilience

Nano-carrier based drug delivery systems for sustained antimicrobial agent release from orthopaedic cementous material

Total joint replacement (TJR), such as hip and knee replacement, is a popular procedure worldwide. Prosthetic joint infections (PJI) after this procedure have been widely reported, where treatment of such infections is complex with high cost and prolonged hospital stay. In cemented arthroplasties, the use of antibiotic loaded bone cement (ALBC) is a standard practice for the prophylaxis and treatment of PJI. Recently, the development of bacterial resistance by pathogenic microorganisms against most commonly used antibiotics increased the interest in alternative approaches for antimicrobial delivery systems such as nanotechnology. This review summarizes the efforts made to improve the antimicrobial properties of PMMA bone cements using nanotechnology based antibiotic and non-antibiotic delivery systems to overcome drawbacks of ALBC in the prophylaxis and treatment of PJIs after hip and knee replacement

High failure rate of the Duraloc Constrained Inlay

Background and purpose After total hip arthroplasty, dislocations are a frequent complication and are difficult to treat in some patients. A great variety of implants and antiluxation mechanisms are used in surgical therapy

Validity, reliability, and invariance across sex of a German version of the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire

ObjectiveSince there is no scientifically validated German version of the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3), the aim of this study was to assess its psychometric parameters and invariance across sex in a sample of German-speaking young adults. The BREQ-3 is an instrument measuring the social and internal influences of motivation toward exercising. This tool is widespread within the scientific community and has been validated in several languages.MethodsA total of 271 participants (45% women; mean age = 20.67 ± 2.17 years; effect size ≥ 0.5) filled in the BREQ-3 at one time point, with a small sub-sample (n = 37) responding it a second time after 15 days. Confirmatory Factorial Analysis, Structural Modeling, and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient were used to examine the German version of the questionnaire.ResultsResults highlighted a good fit of the six-dimensional model after the removal of two items (CFI = 0.912; SRMR = 0.0594; RMSEA = 0.064), as well as full invariance across sex (pχ2 = 0.218; ΔCFI < 0.01). Internal consistency and reliability were moderate to good.ConclusionsThe 22-item German BREQ-3 is a scientifically valid instrument that can be used in cross-national studies dealing with social aspects of exercise behaviors

The TOPSHOCK study: Effectiveness of radial shockwave therapy compared to focused shockwave therapy for treating patellar tendinopath - design of a randomised controlled trial

Background: Patellar tendinopathy is a chronic overuse injury of the patellar tendon that is especially prevalent in people who are involved in jumping activities. Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy is a relatively new treatment modality for tendinopathies. It seems to be a safe and promising part of the rehabilitation program for patellar tendinopathy. Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy originally used focused shockwaves. Several years ago a new kind of shockwave therapy was introduced: radial shockwave therapy. Studies that investigate the effectiveness of radial shockwave therapy as treatment for patellar tendinopathy are scarce. Therefore the aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of focussed shockwave therapy and radial shockwave therapy as treatments for patellar tendinopathy. Methods/design: The TOPSHOCK study (Tendinopathy Of Patella SHOCKwave) is a two-armed randomised controlled trial in which the effectiveness of focussed shockwave therapy and radial shockwave therapy are directly compared. Outcome assessors and patients are blinded as to which treatment is given. Patients undergo three sessions of either focused shockwave therapy or radial shockwave therapy at 1-week intervals, both in combination with eccentric decline squat training. Follow-up measurements are scheduled just before treatments 2 and 3, and 1, 4, 7 and 12 weeks after the final treatment. The main outcome measure is the Dutch VISA-P questionnaire, which asks for pain, function and sports participation in subjects with patellar tendinopathy. Secondary outcome measures are pain determined with a VAS during ADL, sports and decline squats, rating of subjective improvement and overall satisfaction with the treatment. Patients will also record their sports activities, pain during and after these activities, and concurrent medical treatment on a weekly basis in a web-based diary. Results will be analysed according to the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: The TOPSHOCK study is the first randomised controlled trial that directly compares the effectiveness of focused shockwave therapy and radial shockwave therapy, both in combination with eccentric decline squat training, for treating patellar tendinopathy. Trial registration: Trial registration number NTR2774

Genome-Wide Association Studies in an Isolated Founder Population from the Pacific Island of Kosrae

It has been argued that the limited genetic diversity and reduced allelic heterogeneity observed in isolated founder populations facilitates discovery of loci contributing to both Mendelian and complex disease. A strong founder effect, severe isolation, and substantial inbreeding have dramatically reduced genetic diversity in natives from the island of Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia, who exhibit a high prevalence of obesity and other metabolic disorders. We hypothesized that genetic drift and possibly natural selection on Kosrae might have increased the frequency of previously rare genetic variants with relatively large effects, making these alleles readily detectable in genome-wide association analysis. However, mapping in large, inbred cohorts introduces analytic challenges, as extensive relatedness between subjects violates the assumptions of independence upon which traditional association test statistics are based. We performed genome-wide association analysis for 15 quantitative traits in 2,906 members of the Kosrae population, using novel approaches to manage the extreme relatedness in the sample. As positive controls, we observe association to known loci for plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, and C-reactive protein and to a compelling candidate loci for thyroid stimulating hormone and fasting plasma glucose. We show that our study is well powered to detect common alleles explaining ≥5% phenotypic variance. However, no such large effects were observed with genome-wide significance, arguing that even in such a severely inbred population, common alleles typically have modest effects. Finally, we show that a majority of common variants discovered in Caucasians have indistinguishable effect sizes on Kosrae, despite the major differences in population genetics and environment