Validation of the French version of the Global Functioning: Social and Global Functioning: Role Scales in adolescents and young adults seeking help in early intervention clinics.

Aim: Social and role functioning impairments characterize patients along the schizophrenia spectrum, but the existing evaluations tools do not specifically address younger population issues. The Global Functioning Social (GF:S) and Global Functioning Role (GF:R) scales have been specifically designed for that purpose. The aim of this study is to establish the reliability and concurrent validity of the French version of GF:S and GF:R scales.

Energy funnelling within multichromophore architectures monitored with subnanometre resolution.

The funnelling of energy within multichromophoric assemblies is at the heart of the efficient conversion of solar energy by plants. The detailed mechanisms of this process are still actively debated as they rely on complex interactions between a large number of chromophores and their environment. Here we used luminescence induced by scanning tunnelling microscopy to probe model multichromophoric structures assembled on a surface.

Nano-sheets of two-dimensional polymers with dinuclear (arene)ruthenium nodes, synthesised at a liquid/liquid interface.

We developed a new class of mono- or few-layered two-dimensional polymers based on dinuclear (arene)ruthenium nodes, obtained by combining the imine condensation with an interfacial chemistry process, and use a modified Langmuir-Schaefer method to transfer them onto solid surfaces. Robust nano-sheets of two-dimensional polymers including dinuclear complexes of heavy ruthenium atoms as nodes were synthesised. These nano-sheets, whose thickness is of a few tens of nanometers, were suspended onto solid porous membranes.

Collective radical oligomerisation induced by an STM tip on a silicon surface.

Over the past decade, on-surface fabrication of organic nanostructures has been widely investigated for the development of molecular electronic components, catalysts, and new materials. Here, we introduce a new strategy to obtain alkyl oligomers in a controlled manner using on-surface radical oligomerisations that are triggered by electrons between the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope and the Si(111)√3 ×√3 R30°-B surface. This electron transfer event only occurs when the bias voltage is below -4.

Reduced wear in vitamin E-infused highly cross-linked polyethylene cups: 5-year results of a randomized controlled trial.

Background and purpose - Vitamin E-infused polyethylene is a relatively new material in joint arthroplasty; there are no long-term reports, and only few mid-term results. Using radiostereometric analysis (RSA), we primarily determined whether vitamin E-infused highly cross-linked polyethylene (HXLPE/VitE) acetabular cups show less wear than ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) acetabular cups at 5 years after total hip arthroplasty (THA). We also assessed whether wear rates correlate with increasing cup inclination angles or cup sizes.

Adaptive functional reorganization in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: coexisting degenerative and compensatory changes.

Background And Purpose: Considerable functional reorganization takes place in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in face of relentless structural degeneration. This study evaluates functional adaptation in ALS patients with lower motor neuron predominant (LMNp) and upper motor neuron predominant (UMNp) dysfunction.

Methods: Seventeen LMNp ALS patients, 14 UMNp ALS patients and 14 controls participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Micrometre-long covalent organic fibres by photoinitiated chain-growth radical polymerization on an alkali-halide surface.

On-surface polymerization is a promising technique to prepare organic functional nanomaterials that are challenging to synthesize in solution, but it is typically used on metal substrates, which play a catalytic role. Previous examples on insulating surfaces have involved intermediate self-assembled structures, which face high barriers to diffusion, or annealing to higher temperatures, which generally causes rapid dewetting and desorption of the monomers. Here we report the photoinitiated radical polymerization, initiated from a two-dimensional gas phase, of a dimaleimide monomer on an insulating KCl surface.

Controlled growth of a bicomponent supramolecular network by the sergeants & soldiers principle.

The co-deposition of 1,4-di(4',4''-pyridyl)benzene and 1,4-di(4',4''-bromophenyl)benzene on Si(111)-B surface leads to the formation of a highly regular self-assembly. The formation of this network has been investigated by STM and has been elucidated in the light of sergeants & soldiers principle due to halogen bonding on a silicon surface.

Extrapyramidal deficits in ALS: a combined biomechanical and neuroimaging study.

Introduction: Extrapyramidal deficits are poorly characterised in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) despite their contribution to functional disability, increased fall risk and their quality-of-life implications. Given the concomitant pyramidal and cerebellar degeneration in ALS, the clinical assessment of extrapyramidal features is particularly challenging.

Objective: The comprehensive characterisation of postural instability in ALS using standardised clinical assessments, gait analyses and computational neuroimaging tools in a prospective study design.

The evaluation of off-loading using a new removable oRTHOsis in DIABetic foot (ORTHODIAB) randomized controlled trial: study design and rational.

Background: Off-loading is essential for diabetic foot management, but remains understudied. The evaluation of Off-loading using a new removable oRTHOsis in DIABetic foot (ORTHODIAB) trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of a new removable device "Orthèse Diabète" in the healing of diabetic foot.

Methods/design: ORTHODIAB is a French multi-centre randomized, open label trial, with a blinded end points evaluation by an adjudication committee according to the Prospective Randomized Open Blinded End-point.

Outpatient measurement of arterial stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Background: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a marker of arterial stiffness. The aim of the present study was to compare PWV in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) or obesity and healthy subjects in an outpatient setting.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in patients with obesity without T2DM (n = 37), T2DM without obesity (n = 40), T2DM plus obesity (n = 43), and healthy controls (n = 114).

[Osteoid osteoma on distal phalanx tip of second toe, without scintigraphy fixation].

Osteoid osteoma is a very small painful, benign tumor, located preferentially on long bones. Cases on the phalanxes of the toes are very rare. Pain takes up nearly all the clinical presentation.

Quantitative proteomic analysis of dystrophic dog muscle.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by null mutations in the dystrophin gene, leading to progressive and unrelenting muscle loss. Although the genetic basis of DMD is well resolved, the cellular mechanisms associated with the physiopathology remain largely unknown. Increasing evidence suggests that secondary mechanisms, as the alteration of key signaling pathways, may play an important role.

PTEN contributes to profound PI3K/Akt signaling pathway deregulation in dystrophin-deficient dog muscle.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common and severe form of muscular dystrophy, and although the genetic basis of this disease is well defined, the overall mechanisms that define its pathogenesis remain obscure. Alterations in individual signaling pathways have been described, but little information is available regarding their putative implications in Duchenne muscular dystrophy pathogenesis. Here, we studied the status of various major signaling pathways in the Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy dog that specifically reproduces the full spectrum of human pathology.

Eliminating the paper medical archive by bulk document scanning of historic folders and implementing revised workflows for scanning new documents.

We made the decision in our hospital to radically eliminate the paper archive by bulk scanning over a million medical records. This reorganization goes together with installation of new workflows for injecting information that is still captured on paper as automatically as feasible into the electronic medical record. In this article we describe our organizational and technical approach and we highlight principles which our experience suggests to be useful.

Progenitor cell isolation from muscle-derived cells based on adhesion properties.

Adult skeletal muscle possesses remarkable regenerative capacity that has conventionally been attributed to the satellite cells. These precursor cells were thought to contain distinct populations with varying myogenic potential. Recently, the identification of multipotent stem cells capable of new myofiber formation has expanded the general view on the muscle regenerative process.

Fetal muscle-derived cells can repair dystrophic muscles in mdx mice.

We have previously reported that CD34(+) cells purified from mouse fetal muscles can differentiate into skeletal muscle in vitro and in vivo when injected into muscle tissue of dystrophic mdx mice. In this study, we investigate the ability of such donor cells to restore dystrophin expression, and to improve the functional muscle capacity of the extensor digitorum longus muscle (EDL) of mdx mice. For this purpose green fluorescent-positive fetal GFP(+)/CD34(+) cells or desmin(+)/(-)LacZ/CD34(+) cells were transplanted into irradiated or non-irradiated mdx EDL muscle.

Web-access to a central medical record to improve cooperation between hospital and referring physicians.

We set up Web-access to the central electronic medical record of the University Hospitals Leuven. Purpose was to enable external physicians to more actively participate in the care process as full members of the multidisciplinary treatment team. They get a view on the complete care process in the hospital, and can access results as these become available instead of being provided summary information post factum.

Integrating images into a central medical information system.

Of the information items that must be easily available to the different actors involved in the care process, radiological images are not the least important. While until recently it was not feasible to include these into the medical information system, this situation has changed. Still, emphasis in PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems) is primarily on the technological aspects.

Respiration-induced movement of the upper abdominal organs: a pitfall for the three-dimensional conformal radiation treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Respiration-induced movement of the upper abdominal organs (pancreas, liver and kidneys) was assessed in 12 subjects using dynamic magnetic resonance imaging. The movement of each organ in the cranio-caudal, the lateral and the anterior-posterior direction was deduced from the movement of the center of gravity on two-dimensional images. This center of gravity was computed from the volume delineated on sequential 8-mm slices of both sagittal and coronal dynamic series.

Interobserver variations in gross tumor volume delineation of brain tumors on computed tomography and impact of magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose: (1) To assess the interobserver variability of brain tumor delineation on computed tomography (CT). (2) To assess the impact of the addition of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) information.

Methods: Nine physicians were asked to delineate the gross tumor volume (GTV) of five patients with supratentorial inoperable brain tumors on CT scans and 2 weeks (or more) later on MRIs.

The relation of CT-determined tumor parameters and local and regional outcome of tonsillar cancer after definitive radiation treatment.

Purpose: To investigate the value of CT-derived tumor parameters as predictor of local and regional outcome of tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma treated by definitive radiation therapy.

Methods And Materials: The pretreatment CT studies of 112 patients with tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma were reviewed. After redigitizing the films, primary and nodal tumor volume was calculated with the summation-of-areas technique.

The contribution of magnetic resonance imaging to the three-dimensional treatment planning of localized prostate cancer.

Purpose: To investigate whether the use of transaxial and coronal MR imaging improves the ability to localize the apex of the prostate and the anterior part of the rectum compared to the use of transaxial CT alone, and whether the incorporation of MR could improve the coverage of the prostate by the radiotherapy field and change the volume of rectum irradiated.

Methods And Materials: Ten consecutive patients with localized prostate carcinoma underwent a CT and an axial and coronal MR scan in treatment position. The CT and MR images were mathematically aligned, and three observers were asked to contour independently the prostate and the rectum on CT and on MR.