Effects of second-generation and indoor sports surfaces on knee joint kinetics and kinematics during 45° and 180° cutting manoeuvres,and exploration using statistical parametric mapping and Bayesian analyses

Sport Sciences for Health - The aim of the current investigation was to examine the influence of second-generation (2G) and indoor surfaces on knee joint kinetics, kinematics, frictional and muscle...     

Physical Training and Cardioprotection

IntheUSAalone ,nearly 6 0million ,or 1in 5 ,Americansareaffectedwithcardiovasculardis ease .Coronaryarterydiseaseisthemostfrequentcauseofdeathinthewesternworld .Recently ,awealthofdataandnumerousepi demiologicstudiesindicatethatperformingregularexerciseisanimportantlifestylemodificationtopreventcardiovasculardisease[1] .Manystudiesstronglysupportthenotionthatincreasedphysicalactivityisprotectiveagainstheartdisease ,andexercisehasbeenshowntomodifyseveralriskfactorsassociatedwithcardiovascular…     

The relationship between educators’ and children's physical activity and sedentary behaviour in early childhood education and care

ObjectivesThe early childhood education and care (ECEC) environment has a significant role to play in the promotion of physical activity and reduction of sedentary behaviour in young children. Educators may be an important social factor influencing children's physical activity and sedentary behaviour, however limited evidence exists on this relationship. The primary aim was to examine the relationships between educators’ and children's physical activity and sedentary behaviours within ECEC settings.DesignA cross sectional study.MethodsThe study involved 11 ECEC centres from NSW, Australia (n = 110 educators; n = 490 children). Data for each centre were collected over five consecutive days. Objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour were collected from children using Actigraph accelerometers and were analysed using STATA 13c. Linear regression was used to examine relationships between children and educators, adjusted for centre clustering.ResultsA significant association was reported between educators’ sedentary behaviour and children's sedentary behaviour (p = 0.047). Educators spent 61% of their work day in sedentary behaviour. No significant associations were reported between educators’ physical activity and children's physical activity, for any intensity of physical activity.ConclusionsThe positive relationship between educators’ sedentary behaviours and children's sedentary behaviour in this study highlights a novel area to target in future interventions. Improving physical activity and sedentary behaviours of educators will likely improve children's physical activity levels and thus health and wellbeing outcomes.     

Whole-body and pinhole bone scintigraphic manifestations of Reiter’s syndrome: distribution patterns and early and characteristic signs

The characteristic whole-body and pinhole scintigraphic manifestations of osteo-enthesopathy and arthropathy in Reiter’s syndrome (RS) are described, with an emphasis on early diagnosis. We analysed 59 sets of whole-body and pinhole bone scintigrams of 59 patients with RS. The population comprised 47 men and 12 women with an age range from 15 to 53 years (mean=29.4). Bone scintigraphy was carried out 2–2.5 h after intravenous injection of technetium-99m hydroxydiphosphonate using a single-head gamma camera (Siemens Orbiter Model 6601) with a low-energy high-resolution and a 4-mm pinhole collimator for whole-body and pinhole scintigraphy, respectively. In total 262 lesions of osteo-enthesopathy and arthritis were detected on 59 whole-body scintigrams, an incidence of 4.4 lesions per patient. As anticipated, the lesional distribution was asymmetrical: 68% were in the lower limb skeleton and 32% in the axial and upper limb skeleton. Pinhole bone scintigraphy, applied selectively to one region of interest in each case, enabled us to accurately diagnose arthritis and osteo-enthesopathy. It was noteworthy that osteo-enthesopathy, alone or in combination with arthritis, occurred in 78.9%, and had a strong predilection for the foot bones, especially the calcaneus (25.6%). Pinhole scintigraphy detected enthesopathy in the absence of radiographic alteration in 14.1% of cases and portrayed characteristic signs of RS in 6.9%. Whole-body bone scintigraphy augmented with pinhole scintigraphy was found to be useful in order to panoramically display the systemic involvement pattern, to assess the characteristic bone and articular alterations and to detect early signs of RS. Received 1 August and in revised form 17 October 1998     

Lactose and “Tris” Lyoluminescence dosimetry systems and ESR correlation studies

Lyoluminescence (LL) dosimeters have been developed using lactose monohydrate (disaccharide) and tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (“Tris”) systems and attempts have been made to understand the LL mechanism through ESR correlation studies. Tris LL dosimeter has a γ-ray sensitivity with a linear response in the absorbed-dose range 0.05–200 Gy (5 −2 × 10⁴ rad), while the lactose response extends to a higher range from 1 to 10⁴ Gy (10²–10⁶ rad). The LL output of lactose and Tris did not show any appreciable decay for a period of 6 months after irradiation. ESR measurements show that free-radical concentration in both the systems increases with γ-ray dose in the range 10²–10⁵ Gy. The minimum dose required to measure the radiation-induced ESR signal for Tris is ∼ 500 Gy, the dose at which the LL output saturates, while lactose shows a radiation-induced ESR signal right at the minimum dose where LL could be detected. The estimated value of free-radical concentration for lactose was 10¹⁴–10¹⁷ spins/g in the dose range 10²–10⁵ Gy, while for Tris it is 10¹⁶–10¹⁷ spins/g in the dose range 10³–10⁵ Gy. ESR spectral features of the irradiated Tris show the presence of two distinct radical species and one of these species is found to decay with time. This species has been assigned to a R-cHOH radical on the basis of a detailed single-crystal ESR study. The principal g factors of the radicals are g_x = 2.0021, _y = 2.0041, g_z = 2.0024 and the principal hyperfine couplings are found to be A_x = 15.8 G, A_y = 23.4 G and A_z = 13.8 G. The estimated spin density on the radical carbon atom is 0.7. ESR signal stabilities of lactose and Tris were also studied. Lactose did not show any appreciable ESR decay for a period of 3 months after irradiation, while, for Tris, one of the radicals showed a decay of 45% for the same period.     

Intra and intersession repeatability and reliability of the S-Plate® pressure platform

AimThe aim of this study was to assess the repeatability and reliability of the S-Plate® pressure platform in a group of healthy subjects.Material and methodsForty subjects, free from physical conditions that would affect normal gait, walked along a five-meter corridor while data were recorded from the pressure platform. A total of 10 steps (five each side) were obtained as well as five static trials; the same measurements were repeated one week later. Peak and mean plantar pressures and contact area were recorded for both dynamic and static trials. Additionally, weight supported on each limb was documented during static trials. To assess intrasession and intersession repeatability and reliability, the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and coefficient of variation (CoV) were calculated.ResultsTaking the ICC values into account, every static and dynamic variable analysed showed moderate to excellent reliability and the CoV values were all below 12%.ConclusionMeasurements of either static or dynamic plantar pressure variables with the S-Plate® pressure platform show good repeatability and reliability, and so it is useful for comparing steps within and between sessions.     

Trunk Kinematics and Centre of Pressure Displacement during Lateral Lifting and Lowering

Introduction Severalstudieshaveidentifiedlateralbendingofthetrunk asahighinjuryfactorforlowerbackdisorders(Marraset al.,1993;Punnetetal.,1991Andersson,1981).Moreover,theriskoflow-backpainfurtherincreases whentrunkmovementsinotherdirectionsarecoupled withlateraltrunkloading(HaasandNyiendo,1992).Comparedtoawkwardstaticpositions,wherethetrunkis twisted,dynamicloadingofthetrunk,suchasoccurs duringlifting,isbelievedtosignificantlyincreasetherisk ofinjurytothelowerback(Bigosetal.,1986).Inapreviou…     

Fibrous dysplasia and McCune–Albright syndrome: Imaging for positive and differential diagnoses,prognosis, and follow-up guidelines

Purpose

The radiologist plays a critical role at all steps of the management of patients with fibrous dysplasia (FD) and McCune–Albright syndrome (MAS). The development of a standardized approach to the management of FD/MAS is crucial given the low incidence and multiple clinical presentations of these conditions. Our aim was to develop recommendations for bone imaging in FD/MAS management.

Materials and methods

The establishment of National Reference Centers in France as part of a Health Ministry program for orphan diseases has triggered the development of recommendations for the clinical management of FD/MAS. We used a well-established robust methodological approach involving an extensive literature review by a multidisciplinary working group (20 healthcare professionals) and scoring by a peer-review group (20 healthcare professionals different from the 20 previous ones). There were four phases: a systematic literature review, drafting of initial recommendations, peer-review of this initial draft, and drafting of the final recommendations.

Results

Fifty-seven specific recommendations are provided as key points for the diagnosis, prognosis, and follow-up of patients with FD/MAS. Issues of special interest are highlighted in the discussion, and areas in which future research is needed are identified.

Conclusion

We believe the dissemination of these recommendations within the radiology community may facilitate communication between radiologists and other healthcare providers, thereby substantially improving the management of patients with these rare but potentially disabling conditions.     

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin disease: coregistered FDG PET and CT at staging and restaging--do we need contrast-enhanced CT?

PURPOSE: To retrospectively compare diagnostic value of coregistered fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomographic (PET) and computed tomographic (CT) scans obtained with low-dose nonenhanced CT (PET/CT) with those routinely obtained with contrast material-enhanced CT for staging and restaging of disease in patients with Hodgkin disease or high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty patients (mean age, 39.6 years +/- 17.1 [standard deviation]) with Hodgkin disease (n = 42) or high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 18) were included in this retrospective study. All patients underwent PET/CT and contrast-enhanced CT within a maximum of 24 days (mean, 9.1 days +/- 7.0) of each other for staging (n = 19) or first follow-up examination (n = 41). Findings were extracted from original written reports (PET/CT, contrast-enhanced CT) and compared with findings of reference standard, which included biopsy or follow-up with clinical, laboratory, or other imaging findings. For statistical analysis, sensitivity and specificity were calculated with findings of the reference standard. Agreement of both methods was determined with Cohen kappa and McNemar tests on a per-patient basis. RESULTS: For evaluation of lymph node involvement, sensitivity of PET/CT and contrast-enhanced CT was 94% and 88%, and specificity was 100% and 86%, respectively. For evaluation of organ involvement, sensitivity of PET/CT and contrast-enhanced CT was 88% and 50%, and specificity was 100% and 90%, respectively. Agreement of both methods was excellent (kappa = 0.84) for assignment of lymph node involvement but only fair (kappa = 0.50) for extranodal disease. A difference with P <.05 (McNemar test) was considered significant in regard to exclusion of disease with PET/CT, compared with contrast-enhanced CT. CONCLUSION: PET/CT performed with nonenhanced CT is more sensitive and specific than is contrast-enhanced CT for evaluation of lymph node and organ involvement, especially regarding exclusion of disease, in patients with Hodgkin disease and high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma.     

Correlation between 18F-fluoromisonidazole PET and expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in newly diagnosed and recurrent malignant gliomas

Purpose

Hypoxia and its consequences at the molecular level promote tumour progression and affect patient prognosis. One of the main early cellular events evoked by hypoxia is induction of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) and subsequent upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In this study we sought to determine whether hypoxia detected by ¹⁸F-fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) PET accurately reflects the expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in the tumour and can be used as a biomarker of antiangiogenic treatment and as a prognostic factor in newly diagnosed and recurrent malignant gliomas.

Methods

Enrolled in this study were 32 patients with newly diagnosed glioma and 16 with recurrent glioma of grade III or grade IV. All the patients had undergone FMISO PET preoperatively. The maximum tumour-to-blood FMISO activity ratio (T/B_max) was used to evaluate the degree of tumour hypoxia and the hypoxic volume (HV) was calculated using a tumour-to-blood FMISO uptake ratio of ≥1.2. Immunohistochemical expressions of HIF-1α and VEGF were evaluated semiquantitatively using the immunoreactivity score (IRS, scores 0 to 12) and the correlation was examined between IRS of HIF-1α or VEGF and FMISO uptake of the tumour (SUV_tumour) using navigation-based sampling. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method in relation to the T/B_max and the HV.

Results

The T/B_max and the HV in grade IV gliomas were significantly higher than in grade III gliomas (P?P?VEGF expression was observed in the majority of malignant gliomas. The IRS of HIF-1α and VEGF in the tumour were not significantly different between grade III and grade IV gliomas. The IRS of HIF-1α in the tumour did not correlate with the SUV_tumour of FMISO in either newly diagnosed or recurrent glioma. There was a significant but weak correlation between the IRS of VEGF and the SUV_tumour of FMISO in newly diagnosed glioma, but not in recurrent glioma. The overall survival time in patients with a small HV and a low FMISO T/B_max was significantly longer than in those with a large HV and a high FMISO T/B_max (P?P?Conclusion Preoperative FMISO uptake is significantly correlated with the expression of VEGF in the tumour and might be used as a biomarker of antiangiogenic treatment in newly diagnosed malignant gliomas. However, caution is required because the correlation was weak and there was a large overlap of FMISO uptake between glioma with high and low VEGF expression. In addition, hypoxia determined by FMISO PET appears to be a suitable biomarker for predicting a highly malignant tumour and a poor prognosis in patients with malignant glioma.