Development and feasibility assessment of telephone-delivered supportive care to improve outcomes for patients with colorectal cancer: pilot study of the CONNECT intervention.

Goals Of Work: This study aims to describe a pilot study of the feasibility, acceptability and likely impact of a nurse-delivered, telephone intervention to reduce unmet need and improve quality of life for surgical patients with colorectal cancer.

Materials And Methods: The CONNECT intervention comprises five standardised calls over 6 months commencing on day 3 post-discharge. A prospective non-randomised control trial with patients who had surgery for colorectal cancer at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney between July and December 2006 was conducted.

Throwing workload and injury risk in elite cricketers.

Objective: To investigate the risk between throwing workload and upper limb injury in elite cricketers.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Elite Australian cricket.

Computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging features of canine segmental caudal vena cava aplasia.

Objective: To describe the computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging features of segmental caudal vena cava aplasia and associated vascular anomalies in dogs.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed reviewing computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging archives of eight institutions for dogs with segmental caudal vena cava aplasia. Inclusion criteria included a computed tomographic or magnetic resonance imaging study and supportive diagnostic and follow-up information.

Magnetic resonance imaging features of paraspinal infection in the dog and cat.

The magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings in 22 dogs and two cats with confirmed paraspinal infection of the thoracolumbar spine were characterized. These findings included extensive T2-hyperintense areas (24/24), abscessation (20/24), mild inherent T1-hyperintensity of muscle and abscesses (18/24), and postcontrast enhancement (24/24). Changes involved the vertebral canal in four patients.

Muscle expression of genes associated with inflammation, growth, and remodeling is strongly correlated in older adults with resistance training outcomes.

A group (n = 8) of healthy older (68 +/- 6 yr) adults participated in a 36-session progressive resistance exercise training program targeting the thigh muscles to determine the relationship between muscle gene expression and gains in muscle size and strength. Biopsies were obtained from the vastus lateralis at baseline 72 h after an acute bout of exercise and 72 h after completion of the training program. Training increased thigh muscle size (7%) and strength for the three exercises performed: knee extension (30%) and curl (28%) and leg press (20%).

Soft landings: encouraging compliance with safety standards in Local Government Authority playgrounds.

Issues Addressed: Consistent with health promotion principles of good practice, addressing playground injury necessitates the creation of a supportive environment for the enhancement of wellbeing and the prevention of injuries. This study aims to survey local governments to: determine compliance with playground safety standards; establish frequency of playground inspections and maintenance; and identify motivators and barriers to compliance with safety standards.

Methods: A survey of key informants for playground safety in all 152 local government councils in New South Wales (NSW) was undertaken.

The effect of manual lung inflation vs. spontaneous inspiration on the cardiac silhouette in anesthetized dogs.

The purpose of this study was to assess radiographic heart size in anesthetized dogs, comparing radiographs made with the patient breathing spontaneously to radiographs obtained using positive pressure manual lung inflation. The hypothesis was that manual inflation would cause reduction in the cardiac size. With dogs in right recumbency a radiograph was made at peak spontaneous inspiration followed immediately a radiograph made with application of positive pressure manual inflation of the thorax.

Fast bowlers in cricket demonstrate up to 3- to 4-week delay between high workloads and increased risk of injury.

Background: Limited research in cricket bowlers and baseball pitchers has shown a correlation between workload and injury risk.

Hypothesis: Acute high bowling workload in cricket leads to increased risk of bowling injury in future matches.

Study Design: Cohort study (prognosis); Level of evidence, 2.

Bioengineered internal anal sphincter derived from isolated human internal anal sphincter smooth muscle cells.

Background & Aims: The internal anal sphincter (IAS) is a specialized circular smooth muscle that maintains rectoanal continence. In vitro models are needed to study the pathophysiology of human IAS disorders. We bioengineered sphincteric rings from human IAS smooth muscle cells (SMC) and investigated their response to cholinergic stimulation as well as investigated whether protein kinase C (PKC) and Rho kinase signaling pathways remain functional.

Bioreactors for guiding muscle tissue growth and development.

Muscle tissue bioreactors are devices which are employed to guide and monitor the development of engineered muscle tissue. These devices have a modern history that can be traced back more than a century, because the key elements of muscle tissue bioreactors have been studied for a very long time. These include barrier isolation and culture of cells, tissues and organs after isolation from a host organism; the provision of various stimuli intended to promote growth and maintain the muscle, such as electrical and mechanical stimulation; and the provision of a perfusate such as culture media or blood derived substances.

Suspected sphenoid bone osteomyelitis causing visual impairment in two dogs and one cat.

Objective: To present the clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics of sphenoid bone osteomyelitis.

Procedures: Two dogs (English Springer Spaniel--ESS, Golden Retriever--GR) and one cat (Domestic Long Haired) were presented with a 2-14-day history of visual deficits and reduced pupillary light reflexes. Investigations included physical, ophthalmologic and neurological examination as well as hematology, serum biochemistry, MRI of the head and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis.

Use of magnetic resonance imaging for morphometric analysis of the caudal cranial fossa in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

Objective: To perform morphometric analysis of the caudal cranial fossa in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCSs), to assess the relationship between caudal fossa dimensions and the frequency of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of occipital abnormalities in CKCSs (with and without syringomyelia), and to compare caudal cranial fossa measurements in CKCSs with measurements of 2 groups of mesaticephalic dogs.

Animals: 70 CKCSs and 80 mesaticephalic (control) dogs.

Procedures: Dogs were placed into 4 groups as follows: Labrador Retrievers (n = 40), spaniel-type dogs (40; English Springer Spaniels and Cocker Spaniels), CKCSs with syringomyelia (55), and CKCSs without syringomyelia (15).

Abdominal wall injuries occurring after blunt trauma: incidence and grading system.

Background: Traumatic abdominal wall injuries (AWIs) are being increasingly recognized after blunt force injury.

Methods: All available abdominal/pelvic computed axial tomography (CAT) scans of blunt trauma patients evaluated at our level I trauma center from January 2005 to August 2006 were reviewed for the presence of AWI. AWI was graded using a severity-based numeric system.

Association of clinical and magnetic resonance imaging findings with outcome in dogs with presumptive acute noncompressive nucleus pulposus extrusion: 42 cases (2000-2007).

Objective: To assess associations of severity of neurologic signs (neurologic score), involvement of an intumescence, and findings of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with interval to recovery and outcome in dogs with presumptive acute noncompressive nucleus pulposus extrusions.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 42 dogs with presumptive acute noncompressive nucleus pulposus extrusions.

Infrared beak treatment method compared with conventional hot-blade trimming in laying hens.

Infrared lasers have been widely used for noninvasive surgical applications in human medicine, and their results are reliable, predictable, and reproducible. Infrared lasers have recently been designed for the express purpose of providing a less painful, more precise beak-trimming method compared with conventional beak trimming. This study was designed to examine the potential of the infrared (IR) beak treatment to provide a welfare-friendly alternative to the conventional hot-blade method for chickens.

The reliability of musculoskeletal screening tests used in cricket.

Objectives: To determine the inter- and intra-observer reliability of a field-based musculoskeletal screening protocol used to measure potential injury risk factors in cricket fast bowlers.

Design: Test-retest reliability study.

Setting: High performance Australian cricket.

Iatrogenic brainstem injury during cerebellomedullary cistern puncture.

Cerebrospinal fluid collection is fundamental to the investigation of central nervous system disorders although it carries potential risks. Herein we report the clinical signs and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings associated with needle injury to the brainstem during cerebellomedullary cistern puncture in four dogs. Three dogs were nonambulatory tetraparetic with cranial nerve deficits and one dog had unexplained left thoracic limb paresis.

Appearance matters: artificial marking alters aggression and stress.

Artificial marking of animals for identification is frequently employed by researchers in the behavioral, biomedical, agricultural, and environmental sciences. The impact of artificial marking on experimental results is rarely explicitly considered despite evidence demonstrating that changes in phenotypic appearance can modify animal behavior and reproductive success. Here we present evidence that artificial marking of individuals within a social group has frequency-dependent effects on the behavior and physiology of domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus).

Open source tools in support of a multi-center prospective biomarker study in prostate cancer.

The open source software tools developed at UCLA are the informatics infrastructure supporting translational research efforts of the 11 National Cancer Institutes Prostate SPORE sites. The Codebook is a caBIG compliant application that manages PHI (e.g.

Comparison of magnetic resonance imaging sequences in dogs with multi-focal intracranial disease.

Objectives: To compare the value of different magnetic resonance sequences in the detection of brain lesions in dogs with multi-focal intracranial neurolocalised lesions and abnormal cisternal cerebrospinal fluid analysis.

Methods: T2-weighted, T1-weighted, T1-weighted-Gd, FLAIR (fluid attenuated inversion recovery) images of 73 dogs with multi-focal intracranial localised lesions were reviewed retrospectively. Control dogs (19) were selected on the basis of normal neurological examination, magnetic resonance images and cerebrospinal fluid analysis.

Association of clinical and magnetic resonance imaging findings with outcome in dogs suspected to have ischemic myelopathy: 50 cases (2000-2006).

Objective: To determine whether clinical signs or magnetic resonance imaging findings were associated with outcome in dogs with presumptive ischemic myelopathy.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 50 dogs.

A potent mechanism-inspired O-GlcNAcase inhibitor that blocks phosphorylation of tau in vivo.

Pathological hyperphosphorylation of the microtubule-associated protein tau is characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the associated tauopathies. The reciprocal relationship between phosphorylation and O-GlcNAc modification of tau and reductions in O-GlcNAc levels on tau in AD brain offers motivation for the generation of potent and selective inhibitors that can effectively enhance O-GlcNAc in vertebrate brain. We describe the rational design and synthesis of such an inhibitor (thiamet-G, K(i) = 21 nM; 1) of human O-GlcNAcase.

Effect of streptomycin on the active force of bioengineered heart muscle in response to controlled stretch.

In this study, we describe a bioreactor system to deliver controlled stretch protocols to bioengineered heart muscle (BEHMs) and test the system when streptomycin (an aminoglycoside antibiotic, which blocks stretch-activated channels) is either added to or excluded from the culture medium. Streptomycin is a very commonly used component of cell culture antibiotic-antimycotic media additives, so its effects on muscle development and functional response to mechanical signals in vitro is worthy of investigation. Our hypothesis is that BEHMs will not adapt to the applied mechanical stretch protocol when streptomycin is present in the culture medium, but will do so when streptomycin is excluded.