Comparison of impact on mood,health, and daily living experiences of primary caregivers of walking and non-walking children with cerebral palsy and provided community services support

Many children with cerebral palsy (CP), especially non-walkers, were previously reported to have cold extremities, pain, sleeping disorders, constipation, and impaired well-being – besides accompanying impairments. Most children had had one or more of these symptoms for more than 1 year, and the symptoms were largely untreated. This study (1) describes mood, health, and daily life experiences of the children's parents; (2) explains impact that the child's impairments and symptoms have on the family; and (3) investigates community services support. Information in this study was gathered from parents of 106 children, ages 5–16, with CP, who lived in northern Sweden. Compared with parents of walkers, parents with non-walking children and several disorders were more frequently anxious for their children's physical and psychological health; often experienced restricted time for themselves; reported frequent daily living interferences; and stated that their health was affected due to the child's health. 10 percent of all families reported that their need of community services support was unmet. To improve health and to provide good community services support for the entire family, regular follow-up and evaluation of the child's treatment and family support are important.     

Zirconocene Propylene Polymerisation: Controlling Termination Reactions

Summary: Propylene was polymerised at varying trimethylaluminium (TMA) concentration with two metallocenes activated by methylaluminoxane (MAO) in an attempt to better understand the effect of TMA on the activation process, catalyst activity and termination reactions. A chemical treatment of MAO solution with 2,6‐di‐tert‐butyl‐p‐cresol was used to obtain TMA‐free polymerisation conditions. The metallocene precursors under investigation were diphenylmethyl(cyclopentadienyl)(9‐fluorenyl)zirconium dichloride ( 1 ) and rac‐dimethylsilylbis(4‐tert‐butyl‐2‐methyl‐cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride ( 2 ). Chain transfer to aluminium was the dominating termination route for 1 /MAO accompanied with β‐H/β‐CH₃ transfer to Zr and β‐H transfer to monomer. It was found that β‐H/β‐CH₃ transfer to Zr was favoured over the β‐H transfer to monomer at elevated temperatures, and that polymerisation and β‐H transfer to monomer depended on the same critical reaction. For 2 /MAO the detected termination routes were β‐H transfer to Zr and chain transfer to aluminium. A strong activity dependency on TMA concentration was observed. With 1 /MAO high TMA concentration decreased and stabilised the activity, whereas TMA free polymerisation conditions at 40 °C increased markedly the activity, indicating that TMA coordinated to the active site of 1 /MAO. Surprisingly, with more sterically hindered 2 /MAO, high TMA concentration increased the activity and nearly complete activity loss occurred at TMA‐free polymerisation conditions at 40 °C.

Metallocene precursors for investigation of propylene polymerisation.     

Ventral hernia and pregnancy: A systematic review

Background

Consensus lacks concerning management of ventral hernia in women who are, or might become pregnant. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the risk of recurrence following pre-pregnancy ventral hernia repair, and secondly the prevalence of ventral hernia during pregnancy and the risk of surgical repair pre- and post-partum.

More histologic and ultrastructural degenerative signs in the subscapularis tendon and the joint capsule in male patients with shoulder impingement

Purpose

The purpose of the present study was to analyze biopsy samples from the subscapularis tendon and from the joint capsule from male patients with shoulder impingement syndrome (SAIS) and compare them with samples from male patients with post-traumatic recurrent shoulder instability. The hypothesis of the study was that patients with SAIS would have more histologic and ultrastructural degenerative changes in their subscapularis tendon and joint capsule than patients with post-traumatic recurrent shoulder instability.

Methods

Male patients scheduled for surgery, with either subacromial decompression or Bankart reconstruction, were included. Four biopsies from each patient were obtained from the capsule and four from the subscapularis tendon during arthroscopic surgery. The histologic characteristics and the presence of glycosaminoglycans were assessed using the light microscope, and the ultrastructure was assessed using a transmission electron microscope.

Results

Eight patients, median age 53 (45–74) years (p?<?0.0001), were included in the impingement group, and 12 patients, median age 27 (22–48) years, were included in the instability group. The histologic assessment revealed significantly higher cellularity and total degeneration score in the capsule (p?=?0.016 and p?=?0.014 respectively) in patients with subacromial impingement compared with the instability patients. The corresponding finding was not made for the subscapularis tendon. The ultrastructural evaluation revealed that the instability patients had more fibrils with a large diameter (indicating less degeneration) in both the subscapularis tendon and the capsule compared with the impingement patients (p?<?0.0001).

Conclusion

Male patients with subacromial impingement have more histologic and ultrastructural degenerative changes in their shoulder compared with patients with post-traumatic recurrent shoulder instability.

Clinical relevance

It appears that in patients with subacromial impingement, the whole shoulder joint is affected and not only the subacromial space. It is the opinion of the authors that intra-articular therapeutic injections could be tried more often in these patients.

Level of evidence

III.

     

Isolation and characterization of the measles virus F1 polypeptide: comparison with other paramyxovirus fusion proteins

Measles virus fusion (F) protein has been isolated by immunoadsorption to a complex of monoclonal antibodies bound to protein A-Sepharose. The 41-kDa F1 component of the fusion protein was obtained pure in high yield by preparative SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The amino acid composition of the F1 chain was determined and the N-terminal sequence was analyzed for 40 residues. The structure determined is largely hydrophobic, with 24 residues of Val, Ile, Leu, Met, Phe, or Ala. Comparison with previously published data on the F1 polypeptide of Sendai virus showed considerable similarity in amino acid composition. Extensive N-terminal sequence homologies with F1 polypeptides of different paramyxoviruses are also noticed, including a nine-residue segment strictly conserved among four F1 polypeptides studied, as well as a weaker but distinct and Gly-rich sequence homology with the influenza A and B virus HA2 polypeptides. The evolutionary conservation of the N-terminal region at the site of cleavage of surface glycoproteins of the two families of myxoviruses highlights its specialized function in membrane fusion.     

Further studies on subacute encephalitis and hydrocephalus in hamsters caused by measles virus from persistently infected cell cultures

Newborn hamsters were inoculated intracerebrally (IC) with disrupted measles carrier Lu 106 cells. No acute neurological disease developed, but limited, persistent neural infection was identified by immune fluorescence and by virus isolation. By ten days after inoculation, virus could be recovered only by co cultivation of explant cultures of central nervous system (CNS) tissue and Vero cells. Virus was still demonstrable in CNS by both techniques 50 days after inoculation, the latest sample collected. Animals inoculated as newborns developed a poor hem agglutination-inhibiting (HI) antibody response. In three-week-old hamsters inoculated IC no detectable replication of carrier virus occurred. The serum HI antibody response was more than 20 times higher than that in animals inoculated as newborns. Hydrocephalus developed in a fraction of animals inoculated at birth or at the age of three weeks. Both infectious and heat-inactivated disrupted virus carrier material, but not control material of Lu 106 cells, gave hydrocephalus. The precise mechanism leading to hydrocephalus is unclear. Carrier virus material may produce a meningeal irritation causing disturbances of the extraventricular flow or resorption of cerebrospinal fluid, leading to communicating hydrocephalus. Infectious carrier virus may replicate in and destroy ependymal cells, further contributing to hydrocephalus.     

The management and clinical knowledge of headache disorders among general practitioners in Norway: a questionnaire survey

BackgroundGeneral practitioners (GPs) diagnose and manage a majority of headache patients seeking health care. With the aim to understand the potential for clinical improvement and educational needs, we performed a study to investigate Norwegian GPs knowledge about headache and its clinical management.MethodsWe invited GPs from a random sample of 130 Norwegian continuous medical education (CME) groups to respond to an anonymous questionnaire survey.Results367 GPs responded to the survey (73% of invited CME groups, 7.6% of all GPs in Norway). Mean age was 46 (SD 11) years, with an average of 18 (SD 10) years of clinical experience. In general the national treatment recommendations were followed, while the International Classification of Headache Disorders and other international guidelines were rarely used. Overall, 80% (n = 292) of the GPs suggested adequate prophylactic medication for frequent episodic migraine, while 28% (n = 101) suggested adequate prophylactic medication for chronic tension-type headache (CTTH). Half (52%, n = 191)) of the respondents were aware that different types of acute headache medication can lead to medication-overuse headache (MOH), and 59% (n = 217) knew that prophylactic headache medication does not lead to MOH. GPs often used MRI in the diagnostic work-up. GPs reported that lack of good treatment options was a main barrier to more optimized treatment of headache patients.ConclusionThe knowledge of management of CTTH and MOH was moderate compared to migraine among Norwegian GPs.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s10194-021-01350-3.     

The effect of temperature on the polymerization of propene with dimethylsilylbis(1-indenyl)zirconium dichloride/methylaluminoxane and dimethylsilylbis(2-methyl-1-indenyl)zirconium dichloride/methylaluminoxane. Modeling of kinetics

Propene polymerizations were performed using the two ansa-zirconocene catalyst systems dimethylsilylbis(1-indenyl)zirconium dichloride/methylaluminoxane and dimethylsilylbis(2-methyl-1-indenyl)zirconium dichloride/methylaluminoxane. The polymerization rate was observed by continuously monitoring the monomer consumption. Reaction rate profiles were obtained in the temperature range from 40°C to 130°C at pressures between 1 and 2.5 bar and catalyst concentrations from 4.6 · 10⁻⁶ M to 4.2 · 10⁻⁵ M. Isotacticity, as measured by NMR, melting point and molecular weight decreases markedly at higher temperatures. Small amounts of 1,3-inserted monomer (<1 mol-%) was observed at polymerization temperatures above 80°C. No 2,1-inserted monomer was detected. A kinetic model was developed that describes the polymerization rate for Me₂Si(Ind)₂ZrCl₂ as the catalyst over the entire observed temperature range, and the polymerization rate for Me₂Si(2-Me-Ind)₂ZrCl₂ in a limited temperature range. The model includes an activation reaction, latent sites that may revert to active sites and a permanent deactivation that is second order with respect to the active sites. The activation energy for the propagation reaction was found to be 37 kJ/mol for Me₂Si(Ind)₂ZrCl₂ and 32 kJ/mol for Me₂Si(2-Me-Ind)₂ZrCl₂/MAO. Several kinetic models are compared and discussed.