High-fat/high-sucrose diet-induced obesity results in joint-specific development of osteoarthritis-like degeneration in a rat model.

Objectives: Metabolic syndrome and low-grade systemic inflammation are associated with knee osteoarthritis (OA), but the relationships between these factors and OA in other synovial joints are unclear. The aim of this study was to determine if a high-fat/high-sucrose (HFS) diet results in OA-like joint damage in the shoulders, knees, and hips of rats after induction of obesity, and to identify potential joint-specific risks for OA-like changes.

Methods: A total of 16 male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated to either the diet-induced obesity group (DIO, 40% fat, 45% sucrose, n = 9) or a chow control diet (n = 7) for 12 weeks.

[The Psychotherapeutic Evening Clinic: Concept and First Results].

This article reports about a new treatment setting, the Psychotherapeutic Evening Clinic at the University Hospital Heidelberg. The treatment intensity is ranked between intensive, full-day inpatient and day-clinic programs in hospitals and less frequent outpatient psychotherapy according to the Germany Psychotherapy Guideline. Patients attend the Evening Clinic on 3 evenings per week for 3 hours each.

Residual Force Enhancement Is Attenuated in a Shortening Magnitude-dependent Manner.

Introduction: The isometric force attained after active stretch is greater than that attained in a purely isometric contraction. This property is referred to as residual force enhancement (RFE). Although RFE is thought to contribute to the enhanced force and power in stretch-shortening cycles (SSCs), it is unclear whether shortening that occurs after active stretch eliminates the RFE induced by active stretch.

Does partial titin degradation affect sarcomere length nonuniformities and force in active and passive myofibrils?

The aim of this study was to determine the role of titin in preventing the development of sarcomere length nonuniformities following activation and after active and passive stretch by determining the effect of partial titin degradation on sarcomere length nonuniformities and force in passive and active myofibrils. Selective partial titin degradation was performed using a low dose of trypsin. Myofibrils were set at a sarcomere length of 2.

Force properties of skinned cardiac muscle following increasing volumes of aerobic exercise in rats.

The positive effects of chronic endurance exercise training on health and performance have been well documented. These positive effects have been evaluated primarily at the structural level, and work has begun to evaluate mechanical adaptations of the myocardium. However, it remains poorly understood how the volume of exercise training affects cardiac adaptation.

Site-specific glycosaminoglycan content is better maintained in the pericellular matrix than the extracellular matrix in early post-traumatic osteoarthritis.

Introduction: One of the characteristics of early osteoarthritis (OA) is the loss of fixed charged density (FCD) of glycosaminoglycans in the superficial zone of articular cartilage. However, possible local changes in the FCD content of the pericellular matrix (PCM) are not fully understood. Hence, our aim was to investigate the effect of unilateral anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) in rabbit knees on estimated FCD in the PCM compared to that in the ECM, and relate these results with cell morphology.

Software for convenient correction of artifacts in sonomicrometry.

Sonomicrometry is widely applied in biomechanics and physiology to measure precise distances with high temporal resolution. Although commonly used, its usefulness is often limited by the presence of artifacts that require correction. Unfortunately, procedures reported in the literature for artifact correction are often unclear.

Neural Food Reward Processing in Successful and Unsuccessful Weight Maintenance.

Objective: Weight loss maintenance is one of the biggest challenges in behavioral weight loss programs. The present study aimed to examine metabolic influences on the mesolimbic reward system in people with successful and unsuccessful long-term weight loss maintenance.

Methods: Thirty-three women with obesity at least 6 months after the completion of a diet were recruited: seventeen women were able to maintain their weight loss, whereas sixteen showed weight regain.

Quantifying the Effects of Different Treadmill Training Speeds and Durations on the Health of Rat Knee Joints.

Background: Walking and running provide cyclical loading to the knee which is thought essential for joint health within a physiological window. However, exercising outside the physiological window, e.g.

Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, and Musculoskeletal Disease: Common Inflammatory Pathways Suggest a Central Role for Loss of Muscle Integrity.

Inflammation can arise in response to a variety of stimuli, including infectious agents, tissue injury, autoimmune diseases, and obesity. Some of these responses are acute and resolve, while others become chronic and exert a sustained impact on the host, systemically, or locally. Obesity is now recognized as a chronic low-grade, systemic inflammatory state that predisposes to other chronic conditions including metabolic syndrome (MetS).

The sag response in human muscle contraction.

Purpose: We examined how muscle length and time between stimuli (inter-pulse interval, IPI) influence declines in force (sag) seen during unfused tetani in the human adductor pollicis muscle.

Methods: A series of 16-pulse contractions were evoked with IPIs between 1 × and 5 × the twitch time to peak tension (TPT) at large (long muscle length) and small (short muscle length) thumb adduction angles. Unfused tetani were mathematically deconstructed into a series of overlapping twitch contractions to examine why sag exhibits length- and IPI-dependencies.

Correction to: skeletal muscle mechanics: questions, problems and possible solutions.

In Fig. 3a of the original manuscript [1], the passive force at the beginning of the force-time history (approximately from 0 to 1 s) of each of the black and orange traces was interchanged in the coloring process. This was an error in the artwork preparation, not the original data.

Three-dimensional micro-scale strain mapping in living biological soft tissues.

Unlabelled: Non-invasive characterization of the mechanical micro-environment surrounding cells in biological tissues at multiple length scales is important for the understanding of the role of mechanics in regulating the biosynthesis and phenotype of cells. However, there is a lack of imaging methods that allow for characterization of the cell micro-environment in three-dimensional (3D) space. The aims of this study were (i) to develop a multi-photon laser microscopy protocol capable of imprinting 3D grid lines onto living tissue at a high spatial resolution, and (ii) to develop image processing software capable of analyzing the resulting microscopic images and performing high resolution 3D strain analyses.

Impact of Depression and Psychosocial Treatment on Heart Rate Variability in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: An Exploratory Analysis Based on the HEIDIS Trial.

Objectives: To explore the impact of depression on heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) as a marker of autonomic nervous system (ANS) impairment in depressed and non-depressed patients with advanced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to explore possible effects of an acceptance- and mindfulness-based group intervention (MBSR) on HR and HRV.

Methods: Alongside a prospective clinical trial, we collected demographic, psychosocial and clinical data from 113 chronic T2DM patients in a standardized setting. At baseline and after one year, depressive mood was assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and autonomic function was determined by measuring HR and HRV markers.

Residual Force Enhancement Is Preserved for Conditions of Reduced Contractile Force.

Introduction: The isometric muscle force attained after active stretch is greater than that attained in a purely isometric contraction. This property is referred to as residual force enhancement (RFE). Because RFE is thought to be caused by a titin-based passive force, it should be preserved in reduced contractile force states.

Force depression following a stretch-shortening cycle is independent of stretch peak force and work performed during shortening.

The steady-state isometric force following active muscle shortening or lengthening is smaller (force depression; FD) or greater (residual force enhancement; RFE) than a purely isometric contraction at the corresponding length. The mechanisms behind these phenomena remain not fully understood, with few studies investigating the effects of FD and RFE in stretch-shortening cycles (SSC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of RFE and peak force at the end of the stretch phase on the steady-state isometric force following shortening.

The multiple roles of titin in muscle contraction and force production.

Titin is a filamentous protein spanning the half-sarcomere, with spring-like properties in the I-band region. Various structural, signaling, and mechanical functions have been associated with titin, but not all of these are fully elucidated and accepted in the scientific community. Here, I discuss the primary mechanical functions of titin, including its accepted role in passive force production, stabilization of half-sarcomeres and sarcomeres, and its controversial contribution to residual force enhancement, passive force enhancement, energetics, and work production in shortening muscle.

Healthy ageing at work- Efficacy of group interventions on the mental health of nurses aged 45 and older: Results of a randomised, controlled trial.

Objective: This multicentre, randomised controlled trial (RCT) aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a small-group intervention promoting successful ageing at work in older nurses (aged ≥45).

Method: A sample of 115 nurses aged ≥45 from 4 trial sites in Germany were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (IG), that received a small-group intervention of seven weekly sessions of 120 min with a booster session after six weeks or to a wait-list control condition (WLC). Outcomes were measured via validated self-report questionnaires at baseline (T1) and at post-treatment (T2).

Orthotropic hydraulic permeability of arrays of parallel cylinders.

Approximate analytical methods are presented to calculate the overall orthotropic hydraulic permeability of a flow with low Reynolds number, passing through a bundle of parallel circular cylinders. Two particular distributions are considered: (i) arrays with ordered rectangular lattices and (ii) irregular nonrandom distributions for which the unit cell cross sections are elliptical. The standard unit cell models, originally developed by Happel and Kuwabara for a random distribution of cylinders, are adapted to the case of nonrandom distributions.

Pilot-RCT of an integrative group therapy for patients with refractory irritable bowel syndrome (ISRCTN02977330).

Objective: Different forms of psychotherapeutic treatments have been proven effective in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but disorder-oriented and integrative concepts are still rare. Therefore, we implemented and evaluated an integrative group therapeutic concept within an interdisciplinary tertiary care clinic for functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs).

Aims: present our integrative group concept, assess feasibility issues, and evaluate efficacy.

Sarcomere Lengths Become More Non-uniform upon Activation in Intact Whole Muscle.

The sarcomere force-length relationship has been extensively used to predict muscle force potential. The common practice is to measure the mean sarcomere length (SL) in a relaxed muscle at a single location and at a given length, and this mean SL is assumed to represent the SLs at other locations across the muscle. However, in a previous study, we found that SLs are highly non-uniform across an intact passive muscle.

Time course of adiponectin and its relationship to psychological aspects in patients with anorexia nervosa during inpatient treatment.

Objective: The protein hormone adiponectin promotes metabolic and psychological health. The aim of the study was to track changes in adiponectin levels in response to weight gain and to assess associations between adiponectin and psychological aspects in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN).

Methods: To investigate if adiponectin levels depend on AN severity, data were assessed from 11 inpatients with a very low body mass index (BMI) and a high chronicity (high severity group; HSS), and nine with less severe symptoms (LSS).

Influence of residual force enhancement and elongation of attached cross-bridges on stretch-shortening cycle in skinned muscle fibers.

Increased muscle force during stretch-shortening cycles (SSCs) has been widely examined. However, the mechanisms causing increased muscle force in SSCs remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of residual force enhancement and elongation of attached cross-bridges on the work enhancement in SSCs.

[Psycho-oncology care in rural areas : Results from a cross-sectional survey on the utilisation of community-based psychosocial support services].

Background: Clinically relevant distress and unmet psychosocial needs frequently occur in the course of cancer diseases. Particularly for thinly populated rural areas in Germany rates of distressed patients and uptake of community-based psycho-oncology services are unknown.

Objectives: Determination of a) the proportion of cancer patients with psychosocial distress and unmet needs and b) the utilisation of community-based psycho-oncology services in thinly populated rural areas.

Diet-induced obesity leads to pro-inflammatory alterations to the vitreous humour of the eye in a rat model.

Objective And Design: The purpose of this study was to investigate if diet-induced obesity (DIO) and subsequent low-level systemic inflammation would result in local increases in pro-inflammatory mediators in the vitreous humour (VH) of the eyes of rats.

Methods: Sixteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a high-fat/high-sucrose (n = 9) or chow control-diet (n = 7) for 12-weeks. RT-qPCR was conducted on RNA from VH cells and a 27-plex Luminex Assay was conducted on VH fluid and serum.