Assessment of health-related quality of life in individuals with depressive symptoms: validity and responsiveness of the EQ-5D-3L and the SF-6D.

Background: The EQ-5D and the SF-6D are examples of commonly used generic preference-based instruments for assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, their suitability for mental disorders has been repeatedly questioned.

Objective: To assess the responsiveness and convergent validity of the EQ-5D-3L and SF-6D in patients with depressive symptoms.

Decreased Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Concentrations 72 Hours Following Marathon Running.

Physical exercise has been linked to beneficial effects on brain plasticity. One potential key mechanism for this relationship is an exercise-induced increase of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). However, the kinetics of BDNF in athletes during training phase, extreme exercise competition, and recovery period have not been investigated so far.

Trifluridine/tipiracil versus placebo for third or later lines of treatment in metastatic gastric cancer: an exploratory subgroup analysis from the TAGS study.

Background: Metastatic gastric cancer and cancer of the esophagogastric junction (GC/EGJ) is an aggressive disease with poor prognosis. In the TAGS study, trifluridine/tipiracil (FTD/TPI) improved overall survival (OS) compared with placebo in heavily pre-treated patients. This unplanned, exploratory subgroup analysis of the TAGS study aimed to clarify outcomes when FTD/TPI was used as third-line (3L) treatment and fourth- or later-line (4L+) treatment.

Hospital Based Quality of Life in Oral Cancer Surgery.

The diagnosis of cancer and its treatment have an incomparable impact on a patient's life. In the early postoperative stages after the surgical treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), functions and well-being are limited, which leads to a fundamental decline of the quality of life (QoL). To date, no studies have been performed that focus on the development of special aspects during the time of the in-patient stay of OSCC patients.

Somatic and sociodemographic predictors of depression outcome among depressed patients with coronary artery disease - a secondary analysis of the SPIRR-CAD study.

Background: Depressive symptoms are common in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and are associated with an unfavourable outcome. Establishing prognostic patient profiles prior to the beginning of mental health care may facilitate higher efficacy of targeted interventions. The aim of the current study was to identify sociodemographic and somatic predictors of depression outcome among depressed patients with CAD.

Long-term Results After Arthroscopic Repair of Isolated Subscapularis Tears.

Background: Although some reports have presented short- to midterm results after arthroscopic repair of isolated subscapularis (SSC) tendon tears, long-term evaluation is still lacking.

Hypothesis: Long-term results after arthroscopic repair of isolated SSC tears are comparable with the functional and radiological short- to midterm outcomes described in the literature.

Study Design: Case series, Level of evidence, 4.

Synthesis of copper-containing bioactive glass nanoparticles using a modified Stöber method for biomedical applications.

Copper (Cu)-containing bioactive glasses (BGs) are attracting attention for bone regeneration and wound healing since they have bone-bonding capability and potential osteogenesis and angiogenesis properties. In this study, highly dispersed and spherical Cu-containing bioactive glass nanoparticles (Cu-BGNs) were successfully synthesized via a modified Stöber method. The content of incorporated Cu in the particles could be tailored by adjusting the amount of the added Cu precursor, a procedure that had no significant effects on the morphological and structural characteristics of the nanoparticles.

Goblet Cell Ratio in Combination with Differentiation and Stem Cell Markers in Barrett Esophagus Allow Distinction of Patients with and without Esophageal Adenocarcinoma.

The increasing incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is mirrored by the increasing prevalence of Barrett esophagus, a precursor lesion resulting in a large number of individuals "at risk" for this lethal malignancy. Among patients with Barrett esophagus, only about 0.3% annually will develop EAC.

Standardized 2D ultrasound versus 3D/4D ultrasound and image fusion for measurement of aortic aneurysm diameter in follow-up after EVAR.

Purpose: To compare standardised 2D ultrasound (US) to the novel ultrasonographic imaging techniques 3D/4D US and image fusion (combined real-time display of B mode and CT scan) for routine measurement of aortic diameter in follow-up after endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR).

Method And Materials: 300 measurements were performed on 20 patients after EVAR by one experienced sonographer (3rd degree of the German society of ultrasound (DEGUM)) with a high-end ultrasound machine and a convex probe (1-5 MHz). An internally standardized scanning protocol of the aortic aneurysm diameter in B mode used a so called leading-edge method.

Atrial Tachycardias Following Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Ablation: Predictors of Recurrence After the Repeat Ablation.

Background: Repeat procedures after persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation are frequently performed for secondary atrial tachycardias (AT). Predictors of AT recurrence after the first repeat ablation have not yet been studied.

Methods: We investigated predictors of AT recurrence in 117 patients who underwent ablation for secondary AT arising after a previous ablation for persistent AF using the Cox proportional hazards model.

Synchronized cell attachment triggered by photo-activatable adhesive ligands allows QCM-based detection of early integrin binding.

The Quartz Crystal Microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) technique was applied to monitor and quantify integrin-RGD recognition during the early stages of cell adhesion. Using QCM-D crystals modified with a photo-activatable RGD peptide, the time point of presentation of adhesive ligand at the surface of the QCM-D crystal could be accurately controlled. This allowed temporal resolution of early integrin-RGD binding and the subsequent cell spreading process, and their separate detection by QCM-D.

Alternative splicing of KAI1 abrogates its tumor-suppressive effects on integrin αvβ3-mediated ovarian cancer biology.

Loss or downregulation of the tumor-suppressor KAI1 correlates with poor cancer patient prognosis. KAI1 functions by interacting with other proteins, including integrin cell adhesion and signaling receptors. We previously showed that KAI1 physically and functionally crosstalks with the tumor-biologically relevant integrin αvβ3, thereby suppressing ovarian cancer cell migration and proliferation.

Cytoplasmic salt bridge formation in integrin αvß3 stabilizes its inactive state affecting integrin-mediated cell biological effects.

Heterodimeric integrin receptors are mediators of cell adhesion, motility, invasion, proliferation, and survival. By this, they are crucially involved in (tumor) cell biological behavior. Integrins trigger signals bidirectionally across cell membranes: by outside-in, following binding of protein ligands of the extracellular matrix, and by inside-out, where proteins are recruited to ß-integrin cytoplasmic tails resulting in conformational changes leading to increased integrin binding affinity and integrin activation.

Gender differences in outcomes of a multimodal pain management program.

Although gender differences in pain and analgesia are well known, it still remains unclear whether men and women vary in response to multimodal pain treatment. This study was conducted to investigate whether men and women exhibited different outcomes after an intensive multimodal pain treatment program. The daily outpatient program consisted of individual treatment as well as group therapy, with a total amount of therapy of 117.

A novel mutation in the maternally imprinted PEG3 domain results in a loss of MIMT1 expression and causes abortions and stillbirths in cattle (Bos taurus).

Congenital malformations resulting in late abortions and stillbirths affect the economic wellbeing of producers and the welfare of cattle in breeding programs. An extremely high incidence of stillbirths of "half-sized" calves of normal karyotype and uninflated lungs was diagnosed in the progeny of the Finnish Ayrshire (Bos taurus) bull--YN51. No other visible anatomical abnormalities were apparent in the stillborn calves.

The effect of closed- and open-wedge high tibial osteotomy on tibial slope: a retrospective radiological review of 120 cases.

Radiographs of 110 patients who had undergone 120 high tibial osteotomies (60 closed-wedge, 60 open-wedge) were assessed for posterior tibial slope before and after operation, and before removal of the hardware. In the closed-wedge group the mean slope was 5.7 degrees (SD 3.

Multicentric Adenocarcinomas in a Long-Segment of Barrett's Esophagus.

This report describes a complicated course of a 58-year-old patient with multicentric Barrett's carcinoma within a long-segment of Barrett metaplasia. After abdominal-thoracic resection of the cancer, with incomplete removal of the long-segment metaplastic lesion, invasive carcinoma was diagnosed in the remnant Barrett's segment. Endoscopic mucosal resection was done, but Barrett's mucosa was left in situ again.

Long-term safety and cognitive effects of galantamine in the treatment of probable vascular dementia or Alzheimer's disease with cerebrovascular disease.

The relationship between cholinergic dysfunction and cognitive and functional impairment in patients with vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) with cerebrovascular disease (CVD) suggests a potential role for cholinomimetic therapy. Initial studies of galantamine demonstrated cognitive, behavioral, and functional benefits in these populations. 326 patients with VaD or AD with CVD who completed an initial 12-month trial were treated with galantamine 24 mg/day in a 24-month, open-label extension.