Longitudinal Changes in Muscle Mass,Muscle Strength,and Physical Performance in Acutely Hospitalized Older Adults

ObjectivesAcute hospitalization may lead to a decrease in muscle measures, but limited studies are reporting on the changes after discharge. The aim of this study was to determine longitudinal changes in muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance in acutely hospitalized older adults from admission up to 3 months post-discharge.DesignA prospective observational cohort study was conducted.Setting and ParticipantsThis study included 401 participants aged ≥70 years who were acutely hospitalized in 6 hospitals. All variables were assessed at hospital admission, discharge, and 1 and 3 months post-discharge.MethodsMuscle mass in kilograms was assessed by multifrequency Bio-electrical Impedance Analysis (MF-BIA) (Bodystat; Quadscan 4000) and muscle strength by handgrip strength (JAMAR). Chair stand and gait speed test were assessed as part of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Norm values were based on the consensus statement of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People.ResultsA total of 343 acute hospitalized older adults were included in the analyses with a mean (SD) age of 79.3 (6.6) years, 49.3% were women. From admission up to 3 months post-discharge, muscle mass (?0.1 kg/m²; P = .03) decreased significantly and muscle strength (?0.5 kg; P = .08) decreased nonsignificantly. The chair stand (+0.7 points; P < .001) and gait speed test (+0.9 points; P < .001) improved significantly up to 3 months post-discharge. At 3 months post-discharge, 80%, 18%, and 43% of the older adults scored below the cutoff points for muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance, respectively.Conclusions and ImplicationsPhysical performance improved during and after acute hospitalization, although muscle mass decreased, and muscle strength did not change. At 3 months post-discharge, muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance did not reach normative levels on a population level. Further research is needed to examine the role of exercise interventions for improving muscle measures and physical performance after hospitalization.     

Cytokine regulation of Group II phospholipase A2 expression in glomerular mesangial cells

Phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂) is believed to play an essential role in inflammatory processes by releasing arachidonic acid from membrane phospholipids for synthesis of important lipid mediators, such as prostaglandins, leukotrienes and platelet activating factor.We have used glomerular mesangial cells as a model system to study the regulation of PLA₂ under inflammatory conditions. Potent pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 1 (IL-1) and tumour necrosis factor (TNF), as well as agents that increase cellular cAMP levels have been found to increase Group II PLA₂ gene expression in a time- and dose-dependent manner.     

Academic education of dentists

The aims of an academic education are phrased on the basis of a report of the Rectors of Dutch Universities, published in 1993. These aims are explicited in more detail for academic dental education. In this respect notable educational forms used in the dental schools in the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium) are mentioned. A minimum-curriculum for academic education in dentistry is formulated, including theoretical courses, application courses and methods of reinforcement in all parts of the entire dental curriculum.     

维生素D_3对报告载体荧光素酶表达的作用

目的：　研究１,２５－二羟维生素Ｄ３ 对结肠癌细胞系Ｃａｃｏ－２ 细胞中报告基因表达的作用,并探讨在报告载体ｐＧＬ２ 序列中存在潜在的抑制性维生素Ｄ应答元件（ＶＤＲＥ）的可能性。方法：　采用磷酸钙沉淀法将报告载体转染入Ｃａｃｏ－２ 细胞。Ｃａｃｏ－２细胞经不同浓度１,２５－二羟维生素Ｄ３ 处理后测定细胞裂解液中表达的荧光素酶活性。结果：　应用ｐＧＬ２ 报告载体时,当用ｐＳＧ５－ＶＤＲ表达载体共转染后,１,２５－二羟维生素Ｄ３显著地抑制Ｃａｃｏ－２ 细胞荧光素酶的表达（Ｐ＜ ０．０５）;而未使用该表达载体共转染则无抑制作用（Ｐ＞ ０．０５）。应用ｐＧＬ３ 报告载体时,不同浓度的１,２５－二羟维生素Ｄ３ 对ｐＬＧ３转染后Ｃａｃｏ－２ 细胞表达的荧光素酶活性均无显著抑制作用（Ｐ＞ ０．０５）,该作用不依赖是否存在有ｐＳＧ５－ＶＤＲ表达载体共转染。结论：１,２５－二羟维生素Ｄ３ 对报告载体ＰＧＬ２ 荧光素酶表达具有抑制作用,而对ｐＧＬ３ 则否;类似人类ＰＴＨ基因中的潜在抑制性ＶＤＲＥ存在于报告载体ｐＧＬ２,在ｐＧＬ３ 中该ＶＤＲＥ业已改变。     

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Volume Contents

Volume Contents     

Chromosomal study after radioactive synoviorthesis for haemophilic haemarthrosis

Summary Twenty joints in 19 haemophiliacs were treated by radioactive synoviorthesis with gold (Au 198) to prevent recurrent haemarthrosis. Twelve knees, six elbows and two ankles were treated in two separate groups (29. 9. 76 and 9. 5. 77).In eight cases (40%) no further haemarthrosis occurred. A diminution of bleeding was obtained in nine cases (45%), a total of 85% good results with 15% failures. One failure in the first group (an elbow) had a second synoviorthesis and was included in the second group also.Prior to synoviorthesis the joint was scanned with technetium (Tc99m) to compare the inflammation of the synovium with that of six months later. The technique including the dosage of Tc99m, Au 198, and factor VIII cover is presented.A leucocyte culture was performed in 16 cases to study any chromosomal breakage, by banding and fluorescent techniques.Paper read at the SICOT meeting in Kyoto, Japan, October 1978     

What have Klingon letters and faces in common? An fMRI study on content-specific working memory systems

Neuroimaging studies show that prefrontal, premotor, and parietal cortical regions are part of a working memory network that supports the active retention of information. In two experiments we used fMRI to examine whether prefrontal and posterior cortical areas are organized in a content-specific way for object and spatial working memory. Subjects performed a delayed matching-to-sample task modified to allow the examination of content-specific retention processes, independent of perceptual and decision-related processes. In Experiment 1, either unfamiliar geometrical objects (Klingon letters from an artificial alphabet unknown to the participants) or their spatial locations had to be memorized, whereas in Experiment 2, either unfamiliar faces or biological objects (butterflies) were actively memorized. All tasks activated a similar cortical network including posterior parietal (banks of the intraparietal sulcus), premotor (banks of the inferior precentral sulcus) and prefrontal regions (banks of the inferior frontal sulcus), and the presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA). For geometrical objects and faces for which strategic semantic processing can be assumed, this activation was larger in the left than in the right hemisphere, whereas a bilateral or right dominant distribution was obtained for butterflies and spatial locations. The present results do not support the process-specific or content-specific view of the role of the prefrontal cortex in working memory task. Rather, they suggest that the inferior prefrontal cortex houses nonmemonic strategic processing systems required for response selection and task management that can flexibly be used across a variety of tasks and informational domains.     

Automated calibration in vascular X-ray images using the accurate localization of catheter marker bands

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To develop a new automated calibration method for vessel measurements in vascular x-ray images. METHODS: Radiopaque marker bands mounted equidistantly on a small catheter were acquired in vitro at five image intensifier (II) sizes in x-ray projection images. The positions of the marker centers were detected by using a Hough transform and were computed at subpixel precision by using either a novel, iterative center-of-gravity approach (CGA) or a symmetry filter. Curve-fitting procedures were used to reject false-positive marker detections and to calculate intermarker distances. The calibration factor was calculated from the true marker distance and the average of the measured distances in pixels. Results were compared statistically with a grid calibration method, which was taken as the gold standard. A simulation study was performed to assess the influence of image noise on the CGA method. RESULTS: The iterative CGA method was convergent and faster than the symmetry-based technique. For four II sizes (17, 20, 25, and 31 cm), the results from the CGA method were not significantly different from the results obtained with grid calibration. For the II size of 38 cm, a significant difference (0.3% of the grid calibration factor) was found; however, this was caused by the quantification error in the image data and was not clinically relevant. In general, the performance of the CGA method improved with increasing signal-to-noise ratio. CONCLUSIONS: A practical new calibration method for small catheter sizes was developed and validated for quantitative vascular arteriography.