Determinants of sustainable work participation after spinal cord injury in The Netherlands.

Purpose: Work participation of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) is lower compared to the overall Dutch population, with determinants largely unknown.

Aim: To identify the determinants of sustainable work participation for persons with SCI.

Methods: A cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted in eight Dutch rehabilitation centers.

Effect of a soft exosuit on daily life gait performance in people with incomplete spinal cord injury: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: People with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) often have gait impairments that negatively affect daily life gait performance (i.e., ambulation in the home and community setting) and quality of life.

Psychological screening of significant others during spinal cord injury rehabilitation.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Determine the course of burden and psychological distress of significant others (SOs) during initial spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation and to predict the caregiver's burden at discharge with characteristics of SOs and persons with SCI (PSCIs) at the start of rehabilitation.

Setting: Rehabilitation center Sint Maartenskliniek, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Non-invasive spinal cord electrical stimulation for arm and hand function in chronic tetraplegia: a safety and efficacy trial.

Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to permanent impairment of arm and hand functions. Here we conducted a prospective, single-arm, multicenter, open-label, non-significant risk trial that evaluated the safety and efficacy of ARC Therapy to improve arm and hand functions in people with chronic SCI. ARC Therapy involves the delivery of externally applied electrical stimulation over the cervical spinal cord during structured rehabilitation.

Effects of Adaptations in an Interdisciplinary Follow-Up Clinic for People with Spinal Cord Injury in the Chronic Phase: A Prospective Cohort Study.

People with spinal cord injury (SCI) often experience secondary health conditions (SHCs), which are addressed during interdisciplinary follow-up clinics. We adapted the design of our clinic, by introducing a questionnaire concerning functioning and SHCs, additional measurements of blood pressure and saturation, and participants were seen by either a specialized nurse or rehabilitation physician. In this study, we investigated the effects of these adaptations and the experienced satisfaction of the participants.

Improved walking capacity after complementary ankle-foot surgery and gait training in a person with an incomplete tetraplegia; a case report.

Introduction: The population of people with a spinal cord injury (SCI) is changing to a diverse population with an increasing number of incomplete lesions. Often, these individuals have the capacity to walk, but experience disabling gait impairments.

Case Presentation: The course of a 34-year-old male with a chronic incomplete traumatic cervical SCI who initially could walk no more than a few steps with supervision or a wheeled walker is described.

Walking naturally after spinal cord injury using a brain-spine interface.

A spinal cord injury interrupts the communication between the brain and the region of the spinal cord that produces walking, leading to paralysis. Here, we restored this communication with a digital bridge between the brain and spinal cord that enabled an individual with chronic tetraplegia to stand and walk naturally in community settings. This brain-spine interface (BSI) consists of fully implanted recording and stimulation systems that establish a direct link between cortical signals and the analogue modulation of epidural electrical stimulation targeting the spinal cord regions involved in the production of walking.

The effect of limited sensory information on exoskeleton performance in people with complete spinal cord injury.

Despite the absence of somatosensory information from the lower extremities, people with complete spinal cord injury (SCI) can maintain postural stability in an exoskeleton. This is partly because humans are able to reweigh the relative dependence on each of the senses. However, when the sensory environment is changed, people with complete SCI are limited in their ability to reweigh their sensory organization towards more dependence on somatosensory information.

Improvement of quality of life after 2-month exoskeleton training in patients with chronic spinal cord injury.

Objective: To examine changes in quality of life (QoL) after an eight-week period of robotic exoskeleton training in a homogeneous group of patients with chronic complete spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Prospective single-group pre-post study.

Setting: Rehabilitation center.

Standard set of network outcomes for traumatic spinal cord injury: a consensus-based approach using the Delphi method.

Study Design: Consensus study.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to define a standardized (network) outcomes set for traumatic spinal cord injury (t-SCI), covering the patient journey from acute to chronic rehabilitation phase, including patient-relevant outcomes, adequate measurement instruments, as well as case-mix and risk factors.

Setting: Acute Spinal Cord Injury (ASCI) Unit Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

[Autonomic dysreflexia in spinal cord injury patients: recognition is vital].

Depending on the level and severity of spinal cord injury (SCI), SCI patients may suffer from loss of autonomic nervous system function besides the well-known motor and sensory function loss. Changes in the autonomic control of the cardiovascular system can lead to the life-threatening phenomenon of autonomic dysreflexia (AD), especially in patients with cervical or high thoracic SCI. AD is defined as a sudden increase in systolic blood pressure of at least 20 mmHg above baseline.

Draft genome sequence of Staphylococcus agnetis 4244, a strain with gene clusters encoding distinct post-translationally modified antimicrobial peptides.

Objectives: Here we report the draft genome sequence of Staphylococcus agnetis 4244, a strain involved in bovine mastitis, and its ability to inhibit different species of antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria owing to bacteriocin production.

Methods: An Illumina MiSeq platform was used for genome sequencing. De novo genome assembly was done using the A5-miseq pipeline.

Learning self-care skills after spinal cord injury: a qualitative study.

Background: People with a recent spinal cord injury (SCI) often follow intensive rehabilitation. Learning appropriate self-care, deal with their impairments and prevent secondary health conditions (SHCs), is highly important during rehabilitation. To date it is not clear how self-care skills are taught to people with SCI.

Interdisciplinary follow-up clinic for people with spinal cord injury: a retrospective study of a carousel model.

Study Design: Explorative retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Secondary health conditions (SHCs) are common in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). To date, little is known about the effectiveness of long-term follow-up care in preventing SHCs.

Trajectories of Self-Efficacy, Depressed Mood, and Anxiety From Admission to Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation to 1 Year After Discharge.

Objective: Self-efficacy (SE) is an important determinant for the psychological adjustment of people with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, little is known about the course of SE during inpatient rehabilitation up to 1 year after discharge. The aim of this study was to determine latent trajectory classes of SE, depressive mood, and anxiety in people with SCI, as well as the interrelationships between these trajectories.

Purification and characterization of bacteriocins-like inhibitory substances from food isolated Enterococcus faecalis OS13 with activity against nosocomial enterococci.

Nosocomial infections caused by enterococci are an ongoing global threat. Thus, finding therapeutic agents for the treatment of such infections are crucial. Some Enterococcus faecalis strains are able to produce antimicrobial peptides called bacteriocins.

Assessment of the Shank-to-Vertical Angle While Changing Heel Heights Using a Single Inertial Measurement Unit in Individuals with Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury Wearing an Ankle-Foot-Orthosis.

Previous research showed that an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) on the anterior side of the shank can accurately measure the Shank-to-Vertical Angle (SVA), which is a clinically-used parameter to guide tuning of ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs). However, in this context it is specifically important that differences in the SVA are detected during the tuning process, i.e.

Exoskeleton home and community use in people with complete spinal cord injury.

A consequence of a complete spinal cord injury (SCI) is the loss of gait capacity. Wearable exoskeletons for the lower extremity enable household and community ambulation in people with SCI. This study assessed the amount, purpose, and location of exoskeleton use in the home and community environment, without any restrictions.

Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior From Discharge to 1 Year After Inpatient Rehabilitation in Ambulatory People With Spinal Cord Injury: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Objective: To evaluate changes in duration of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) from discharge to 1 year after inpatient rehabilitation in ambulatory people with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Longitudinal cohort study with objective measurements of physical behavior at discharge and at 6 and 12 months post discharge.

Setting: Three rehabilitation centers and the participant's home environment.

Self-Efficacy Predicts Personal and Family Adjustment Among Persons With Spinal Cord Injury or Acquired Brain Injury and Their Significant Others: A Dyadic Approach.

Objectives: To investigate whether the combination of self-efficacy levels of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) or acquired brain injury (ABI) and their significant others, measured shortly after the start of inpatient rehabilitation, predict their personal and family adjustment 6 months after inpatient discharge.

Design: Prospective longitudinal study.

Setting: Twelve Dutch rehabilitation centers.

Molecular characterization of aureocin 4181: a natural N-formylated aureocin A70 variant with a broad spectrum of activity.

Bacteriocins are ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial peptides produced by prokaryotes. Here, the molecular characterization of aureocin 4181, a bacteriocin produced by Staphylococcus aureus 4181, a strain involved in bovine mastitis, is presented. Aureocin 4181 gene cluster (aurRID1CBAT) was mined from scaffold 15 of the draft genome of its producer strain.

Nisin Z Production by Wild Strains of Isolated from Brazilian (Italian Type) Fermented Sausage.

In this study, five bacteriocin-producing strains were identified from different naturally fermented Brazilian sausages. Ion exchange and reversed-phase chromatographies were used to purify the bacteriocins from culture supernatant of the five strains. Mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF) showed that the molecular masses of the bactericoins from ID1.

Biochemical, genetic and transcriptional characterization of multibacteriocin production by the anti-pneumococcal dairy strain Streptococcus infantarius LP90.

Streptococcus pneumoniae infections are one of the major causes of morbility and mortality worldwide. Although vaccination and antibiotherapy constitute fundamental and complementary strategies against pneumococcal infections, they present some limitations including the increase in non-vaccine serotypes and the emergence of multidrug-resistances, respectively. Ribosomally-synthesized antimicrobial peptides (i.