The effects of hybrid cycle training in inactive people with long-term spinal cord injury: design of a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Physical activity in people with long-term spinal cord injury (SCI) is important to stay fit and healthy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of hybrid cycle training (hand cycling in combination with functional electrical stimulation-induced leg cycling) on fitness, physical activity and health among a group of inactive people with long-term SCI.

Method: This study will be a 16-week multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a 26-week follow-up.

Comparison of muscle strength, sprint power and aerobic capacity in adults with and without cerebral palsy.

Objective: To compare: (i) muscle strength, sprint power and maximal aerobic capacity; and (ii) the correlations between these variables in adults with and without cerebral palsy.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Subjects: Twenty adults with and 24 without cerebral palsy.

Randomized controlled trial of a self-management intervention in persons with spinal cord injury: design of the HABITS (Healthy Active Behavioural Intervention in SCI) study.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a 16-week self-management intervention on physical activity level and self-management skills (self-efficacy, proactive coping and problem solving skills) in persons with chronic SCI.

Method And Design: Multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT). Eighty persons with a SCI for at least 10 years and aged 18 to 65 will randomly be assigned to the intervention (self-management) or the control group (information provision).

Active LifestyLe Rehabilitation interventions in aging spinal cord injury (ALLRISC): a multicentre research program.

Background: With today's specialized medical care, life expectancy of persons with a spinal cord injury (SCI) has considerably improved. With increasing age and time since injury, many individuals with SCI, however, show a serious inactive lifestyle, associated with deconditioning and secondary health conditions (SHCs) (e.g.

Secondary health conditions in persons with a spinal cord injury for at least 10 years: design of a comprehensive long-term cross-sectional study.

Purpose: To describe the prevalence of secondary health conditions (SHCs) (urinary tract and bowel problems, pressure ulcers, spasticity, musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain, sexual dysfunction, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders) in persons with long-term spinal cord injury (SCI), and to explore the impact of SHCs on fitness, active lifestyle, participation and well-being.

Methods: A time since injury (TSI)-stratified cross-sectional study among 300 persons between 28- and 65-year-old with a SCI for at least 10 years. Strata of TSI are 10-19, 20-29, and 30 or more years.

Arm hand skilled performance in persons with a cervical spinal cord injury--long-term follow-up.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To assess development of arm hand skilled performance (AHSP) during and after in-patient rehabilitation in persons with cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) and to determine factors that influence the outcome.

Setting: Eight rehabilitation centres in the Netherlands with specialised spinal cord injury departments.

Seed storage at elevated partial pressure of oxygen, a fast method for analysing seed ageing under dry conditions.

Background And Aims: Despite differences in physiology between dry and relative moist seeds, seed ageing tests most often use a temperature and seed moisture level that are higher than during dry storage used in commercial practice and gene banks. This study aimed to test whether seed ageing under dry conditions can be accelerated by storing under high-pressure oxygen. methods: Dry barley (Hordeum vulgare), cabbage (Brassica oleracea), lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and soybean (Glycine max) seeds were stored between 2 and 7 weeks in steel tanks under 18 MPa partial pressure of oxygen.

Design of a randomized-controlled trial on low-intensity aerobic wheelchair exercise for inactive persons with chronic spinal cord injury.

Purpose: To investigate effects and working mechanisms of low-intensity aerobic wheelchair exercise on fitness, (upper-body) health and active lifestyle in inactive persons with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods: A multicenter randomized-controlled trial (RCT) in 40 inactive manual wheelchair users (aged 28-65y) with chronic paraplegia or tetraplegia (time since injury >10y). Subjects will be randomly assigned to an intervention or a control group.

The effects of control-display gain on performance of race car drivers in an isometric braking task.

To minimise lap times during car racing, it is important to build up brake forces rapidly and maintain precise control. We examined the effect of the amplification factor (gain) between brake pedal force and a visually represented output value on a driver's ability to track a target value. The test setup was a formula racing car cockpit fitted with an isometric brake pedal.

Trajectories and predictors of the course of mental health after spinal cord injury.

Objective: To study the course and predictors of mental health in the period between the start of active spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation and 5 years after discharge. The hypothesis was that different mental health trajectories would be identified.

Design: Multicenter prospective cohort study with measurements at the start of active rehabilitation, after 3 months, at discharge, 1, 2, and 5 years after discharge.

Prediction models and development of an easy to use open-access tool for measuring lung function of individuals with motor complete spinal cord injury.

Objective: To develop statistical models to predict lung function and respiratory muscle strength from personal and lesion characteristics of individuals with motor complete spinal cord injury.

Design: Cross-sectional, multi-centre cohort study.

Subjects: A total of 440 individuals with traumatic, motor complete spinal cord injury, time post-injury ≥ 6 months, lesion level C4-T12, underwent measurements of lung function and respiratory muscle strength.

A multi-platform flow device for microbial (co-) cultivation and microscopic analysis.

Novel microbial cultivation platforms are of increasing interest to researchers in academia and industry. The development of materials with specialized chemical and geometric properties has opened up new possibilities in the study of previously unculturable microorganisms and has facilitated the design of elegant, high-throughput experimental set-ups. Within the context of the international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, we set out to design, manufacture, and implement a flow device that can accommodate multiple growth platforms, that is, a silicon nitride based microsieve and a porous aluminium oxide based microdish.

Development of metal-chelating inhibitors for the Class II fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) aldolase.

It has long been suggested that the essential and ubiquitous enzyme fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) aldolase could be a good drug target against bacteria and fungi, since lower organisms possess a metal-dependant (Class II) FBP aldolase, as opposed to higher organisms which possess a Schiff-base forming (Class I) FBP aldolase. We have tested the capacity of derivatives of the metal-chelating compound dipicolinic acid (DPA), as well a thiol-containing compound, to inhibit purified recombinant Class II FBP aldolases from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus anthracis, and from the Rice Blast causative agent Magnaporthe grisea. The aldolase from M.

Validity and reliability of tests determining performance-related components of wheelchair basketball.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of wheelchair basketball field tests. Nineteen wheelchair basketball players performed 10 test items twice to determine the reliability. The validity of the tests was assessed by relating the scores to the players' classification and competition standard, and rating of coach and player.

Validity of the Life Satisfaction questions, the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale in persons with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To assess and compare the validity of 3 life satisfaction instruments in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Cross-sectional study 5 years after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.

Setting: Eight rehabilitation centers with specialized SCI units.

Feasibility and reliability of measuring strength, sprint power, and aerobic capacity in athletes and non-athletes with cerebral palsy.

Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse the feasibility and reliability of the tests used to determine muscle strength, sprint power, and aerobic capacity in athletes and non-athletes with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: Twenty individuals with spastic CP (four females, 16 males; age range 18-49y; Gross Motor Function Classification System level I, n=15; II, n=5; unilateral CP, n=10; bilateral CP, n=10; athletes, n=12; non-athletes, n=8) participated in the study. Isometric and isokinetic knee flexor and extensor strength, sprint power, and aerobic capacity were determined, using, respectively an isokinetic dynamometer, a Wingate cycling test, and a graded maximal bicycle exercise test, on three occasions.

Effects of electrical stimulation-induced gluteal versus gluteal and hamstring muscles activation on sitting pressure distribution in persons with a spinal cord injury.

Study Design: Ten participants underwent two electrical stimulation (ES) protocols applied using a custom-made electrode garment with built-in electrodes. Interface pressure was measured using a force-sensitive area. In one protocol, both the gluteal and hamstring (g+h) muscles were activated, in the other gluteal (g) muscles only.

Optimal protein and energy nutrition decreases mortality in mechanically ventilated, critically ill patients: a prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Optimal nutrition for patients in the intensive care unit has been proposed to be the provision of energy as determined by indirect calorimetry and the provision of protein of at least 1.2 g/kg.

Methods: Prospective observational cohort study in a mixed medical-surgical intensive care unit in an academic hospital.

A more active lifestyle in persons with a recent spinal cord injury benefits physical fitness and health.

Study Design: A prospective cohort study.

Objectives: To study the longitudinal relationship between objectively measured everyday physical activity level, and physical fitness and lipid profile in persons with a recent spinal cord injury (SCI).

Setting: A rehabilitation centre in the Netherlands and the participant's home environment.

Changes in life satisfaction in persons with spinal cord injury during and after inpatient rehabilitation: adaptation or measurement bias?

Purpose: To analyze changes in life satisfaction (LS) scores over time in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to interpret what these changes mean.

Methods: Multicenter, prospective cohort study of persons with SCI (n = 96) classified into 3 life satisfaction trajectories identified earlier. Assessment took place 6 times from the start of active rehabilitation up to 5 years after discharge.

Return to work five years after spinal cord injury inpatient rehabilitation: is it related to wheelchair capacity at discharge?

Objective: To describe the proportion of people with spinal cord injury who returned to work 5 years after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation, and to investigate whether return to work is related to wheelchair capacity at discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.

Design: Multi-centre prospective cohort study.

Subjects: A total of 103 participants with acute spinal cord injury at 8 Dutch rehabilitation centres, specialized in the rehabilitation of spinal cord injury.

Relationships between activities, participation, personal factors, mental health, and life satisfaction in persons with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To clarify relationships between activities, participation, mental health, and life satisfaction in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and specify how personal factors (self-efficacy, neuroticism, appraisals) interact with these components. We hypothesized that (1) activities are related directly to participation, participation is related directly to mental health and life satisfaction, and mental health and life satisfaction are 2 interrelated outcome variables; and (2) appraisals are mediators between participation and mental health and life satisfaction, and self-efficacy and neuroticism are related directly to mental health and life satisfaction and indirectly through appraisals.

Design: Follow-up measurement of a multicenter prospective cohort study 5 years after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.

"Near and far": social distancing in domiciled characterisations of homeless people.

For domiciled individuals, homeless people provide a disturbing reminder that all is not right with the world. Reactions to seeing homeless people frequently encompass repulsion, discomfort, sympathy and sometimes futility. This paper considers domiciled constructions of homeless people drawn from interviews with 16 participants recruited in the central business district of a New Zealand city.

Life satisfaction in people with spinal cord injury during the first five years after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.

Purpose: To describe the course of life satisfaction in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) during the first 5 years after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation and to examine its determinants.

Methods: Multi-centre prospective cohort study with four measurements, the first at discharge from inpatient rehabilitation, the last 5 years after discharge. Data of 162 persons with SCI were analyzed.

Adapted manual wheelchair circuit: test-retest reliability and discriminative validity in persons with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To assess the test-retest reliability and discriminative validity of a 14-item manual wheelchair circuit adapted from previous research (AMWC).

Design: Two AMWC trials per subject completed within 15 days.

Setting: Two clinical research and 3 rehabilitation centers.