Impact of job characteristics on return-to-work interval following arthroscopic partial meniscectomy.

The aim of this paper was to investigate whether job characteristics are associated with time interval for return to former professional activity (return to work, RTW) after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM). A retrospective study was carried out in a sample of 63 patients in working age who underwent an APM between July 2018 and July 2020. The following preoperative characteristics were assessed: age at surgery, meniscal side, sex, physical job demands (white versus blue collar worker), telework and work status (salaried versus self- employed).

Duplications of 17q12 can cause familial fever-related epilepsy syndromes.

Objectives: After we identified a 17q12 duplication cosegregating in a 4-generation family with genetic or generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+), we aimed to determine the frequency of 17q12 genomic rearrangements in GEFS+ and a wide spectrum of other epilepsy phenotypes. We furthermore describe seizure prevalence in previously reported patients with a 17q12 duplication or deletion.

Methods: We analyzed 433 patients with a broad range of epilepsy phenotypes.

EPHA4 is a disease modifier of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in animal models and in humans.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting motor neurons. Disease onset and progression are variable, with survival ranging from months to decades. Factors underlying this variability may represent targets for therapeutic intervention.

Clinical validation of a novel speckle-tracking-based ejection fraction assessment method.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility, accuracy, and reproducibility of a novel tracking-based echocardiographic ejection fraction (EF) assessment method in comparison with traditional methods based on magnetic resonance imaging and echocardiography.

Methods: In a prospective assessment, apical echocardiographic grayscale image loops from 81 patients were read in random order by four experienced readers, blinded to any data of the cases. In three separate sessions, EFs were estimated using biplane tracking-based assessment and according to the modified Simpson's rule, as well as by visual interpretation in three apical views.

Fluoxetine administration to pregnant rats increases anxiety-related behavior in the offspring.

Rationale: Fluoxetine (Prozac®) is the most frequently prescribed drug to battle depression in pregnant women, but its safety in the unborn child has not yet been established. Fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, crosses the placenta, leading to increased extracellular serotonin levels and potentially neurodevelopmental changes in the fetus.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to elucidate the long-term consequences of prenatal fluoxetine in rats.

Molecular mechanisms of chlorhexidine tolerance in Burkholderia cenocepacia biofilms.

The high tolerance of biofilm-grown Burkholderia cepacia complex bacteria against antimicrobial agents presents considerable problems for the treatment of infected cystic fibrosis patients and the implementation of infection control guidelines. In the present study, we analyzed the tolerance of planktonic and sessile Burkholderia cenocepacia J2315 cultures and examined the transcriptional response of sessile cells to treatment with chlorhexidine. At low (0.

Transcriptional response of Burkholderia cenocepacia J2315 sessile cells to treatments with high doses of hydrogen peroxide and sodium hypochlorite.

Background: Burkholderia cepacia complex bacteria are opportunistic pathogens, which can cause severe respiratory tract infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). As treatment of infected CF patients is problematic, multiple preventive measures are taken to reduce the infection risk. Besides a stringent segregation policy to prevent patient-to-patient transmission, clinicians also advise patients to clean and disinfect their respiratory equipment on a regular basis.

In vitro activity of ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, meropenem, minocycline, tobramycin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole against planktonic and sessile Burkholderia cepacia complex bacteria.

Objectives: The goal of the present study was to obtain a comprehensive overview of the bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects of six commonly used antibiotics on planktonic as well as on sessile Burkholderia cepacia complex cells.

Methods: The bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities of ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, meropenem, minocycline, tobramycin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole were determined against 38 B. cepacia complex strains.

Resistance of planktonic and biofilm-grown Burkholderia cepacia complex isolates to the transition metal gallium.

Objectives: The Burkholderia cepacia complex is a group of pathogens that can cause severe pulmonary infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the in vitro activity of gallium against planktonic and biofilm-grown B. cepacia complex isolates.

Comparison of multiple methods for quantification of microbial biofilms grown in microtiter plates.

In the present study six assays for the quantification of biofilms formed in 96-well microtiter plates were optimised and evaluated: the crystal violet (CV) assay, the Syto9 assay, the fluorescein diacetate (FDA) assay, the resazurin assay, the XTT assay and the dimethyl methylene blue (DMMB) assay. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cenocepacia, Staphylococcus aureus, Propionibacterium acnes and Candida albicans were used as test organisms. In general, these assays showed a broad applicability and a high repeatability for most isolates.

Platelet factor-4 variant chemokine CXCL4L1 inhibits melanoma and lung carcinoma growth and metastasis by preventing angiogenesis.

The platelet factor-4 variant, designated PF-4var/CXCL4L1, is a recently described natural non-allelic gene variant of the CXC chemokine platelet factor-4/CXCL4. PF-4var/CXCL4L1 was cloned, and the purified recombinant protein strongly inhibited angiogenesis. Recombinant PF-4var/CXCL4L1 was angiostatically more active (at nanomolar concentration) than PF-4/CXCL4 in various test systems, including wound-healing and migration assays for microvascular endothelial cells and the rat cornea micropocket assay for angiogenesis.

Biofilm formation by Propionibacterium acnes is associated with increased resistance to antimicrobial agents and increased production of putative virulence factors.

Propionibacterium acnes plays an important role in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris, a common disorder of the pilosebaceous follicles. Recently, it was suggested that P. acnes cells residing within the follicles grow as a biofilm.

The links between the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES), fantasy proneness, and anxiety symptoms.

The purpose of this study was to further examine the psychometric properties of the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES). A sample of normal adolescents (N = 331) aged 12 to 18 years completed the A-DES and questionnaires measuring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, other anxiety disorder symptoms, and fantasy proneness. Factor analysis indicated that the A-DES, at least in nonreferred youths, is assessing a single dimension of dissociation.