Adherence to treatment for diabetes mellitus: validation of instruments for oral antidiabetics and insulin

Objectives

to verify the face validity, criterion-related validity and the reliability of two distinct forms of presentation of the instrument Measurement of Adherence to Treatment, one being for ascertaining the adherence to the use of oral antidiabetics and the other for adherence to the use of insulin, as well as to assess differences in adherence between these two modes of drug therapy.

Method

a methodological study undertaken with 90 adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. The criterion-related validity was verified using the Receiver Operating Characteristic curves; and for the reliability, the researchers calculated the Cronbach alpha coefficient, the item-total correlation, and the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Results

the oral antidiabetics and the other showed sensitivity of 0.84, specificity of 0.35 and a Cronbach correlation coefficient of 0.84. For the adherence to the use of insulin, the values found were, respectively, 0.60, 0.21 and 0.68. A statistically significant difference was found between the final scores of the two forms of the instrument, indicating greater adherence to the use of insulin than to oral antidiabetics.

Conclusion

it is concluded that the two forms of the Measurement of Adherence to Treatment instrument are reliable and should be used to evaluate adherence to drug treatment among people with diabetes mellitus.     

The benefits of a high-intensity aquatic exercise program (HydrOS) for bone metabolism and bone mass of postmenopausal women

This study aimed to evaluate the 24-week effects of a high-intensity aquatic exercise program on bone remodeling markers and bone mass of postmenopausal women. In this randomized, controlled trial we studied 108 women (58.8 ± 6.4 years), randomized into Aquatic Exercise Group (AEG), n = 64, performing 24 weeks of aquatic exercises, and Control Group (CG), n = 44, sedentary. They had their fasting morning blood sample collected for the measures of intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP) and carboxy-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type I collagen (CTx). Bone mass was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry before and after the intervention. Participants of both groups received a daily supplementation of 500 mg of elementary calcium and 1,000 IU of vitamin D (cholecalciferol). Results showed an augment in bone formation marker (P1NP) only in the AEG (15.8 %; p = 0.001), and although both groups experienced significant enhancements in bone resorption marker (CTx), this increase was less considerable in the AEG (15 % in the AEG and 29 % in the CG). IPTH was increased by 19 % in the CG (p = 0.003) at the end. The femoral trochanter BMD presented a 1.2 % reduction in the CG (p = 0.009), whereas in the AEG no change was observed (p = 0.069). The proposed aquatic exercise program was efficient in attenuating bone resorption raise and enhancing bone formation, which prevented the participants in the AEG from reducing the femoral trochanter BMD, as happened in the CG.     

Evaluation of Cytotoxicity,Genotoxicity and Hematotoxicity of the Recombinant Spore-Crystal Complexes Cry1Ia,Cry10Aa and Cry1Ba6 from Bacillus thuringiensis in Swiss Mice

The insecticidal properties of Cry-endotoxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have long been used as spore-crystals in commercial spray formulations for insect control. Recently, some Bt-endotoxin genes have been cloned in many different plants. Toxicological evaluations of three spore-crystal endotoxins, BtCry1Ia, BtCry10Aa and BtCry1Ba6 from B. thuringiensis, were carried out on mice to understand their adverse effects on hematological systems and on genetic material. These three spore-crystals have shown toxic activity to the boll weevil, which is one of the most aggressive pests of the cotton crop. Cry1Ia, Cry10Aa and Cry1Ba6 did not increase the micronucleus frequency in the peripheral erythrocytes of mice and did not cause changes in the frequency of polychromatic erythrocytes. However, some hematologic disburbances were observed, specifically related to Cry1Ia and Cry1Ba6, respectively, for the erythroid and lymphoid lineage. Thus, although the profile of such adverse side effects can be related to their high level of exposure, which is not commonly found in the environment, results showed that these Bt spore-crystals were not harmless to mice, indicating that each spore-crystal endotoxin presents a characteristic profile of toxicity and might be investigated individually.     

T-cells producing multiple combinations of IFNγ, TNF and IL10 are associated with mild forms of dengue infection

Multifunctional interleukin 10 (IL10)⁺Th1 cells have been implicated in favorable evolution of many infectious diseases, promoting an efficacious immune response while limiting immunopathology. Here, we investigated the presence of multifunctional CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cells that expressed interferon gamma (IFNγ), IL10 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), or its combinations during dengue infection. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from outpatients with dengue (mild dengue forms) and hospitalized patients (or patients with dengue with warning signs and severe dengue) were cultured in the presence of envelope (ENV) or NS3 peptide libraries of DENV during critical (hospitalization period) and convalescence phases. The production of IFNγ, IL10 and TNF by CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cells was assessed by flow cytometry. Our data show that patients with mild dengue, when compared with patients with dengue with warning signs and severe dengue, presented higher frequencies of multifunctional T-cells like NS3-specific IFNγ/IL10-producing CD4⁺ T-cells in critical phase and NS3- and ENV-specific CD8⁺ T-cells producing IFNγ/IL10. In addition, NS3-specific CD8⁺ T-cells producing high levels of IFNγ/TNF and IFNγ/TNF/IL10 were also observed in the mild dengue group. We observed that multifunctional T-cells produced higher levels of cytokines as measured by intracellular content when compared with single producer T-cells. Importantly, multifunctional CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cells producing IFNγ, TNF and IL10 simultaneously displayed positive correlation with platelet levels, suggesting a protective role of this population. The presence of IL10⁺Th1 and IL10⁺Tc1 multifunctional cells was associated with mild dengue presentation, suggesting that these cells play a role in clinical evolution of dengue infection.     

Endobutton袢钢板与Rigidfix横穿钉股骨端固定自体腘绳肌腱重建前交叉韧带的转归

文题释义： 前交叉韧带重建：前交叉韧带是控制膝关节前向稳定的一个重要结构,包括前内侧和后外侧束。前交叉韧带对膝关节稳定提供了强有力的支持,当它出现完全断裂,膝关节会出现明显不稳定的情况。目前最常用的治疗方案为采用关节镜取腘绳肌等肌腱来重建交叉韧带,恢复膝关节的稳定性。 Rigidfix横穿钉：DePuy Mitek RIGIDFIX BIOCRYL股骨3.3 mm ST交叉钉为一种可吸收多聚乳酸和磷酸三钙植入物,用于重建前交叉韧带时,将软组织(半腱肌和股薄肌)移植物固定于股骨。 背景：固定方式的选择是影响前交叉韧带重建预后的重要因素,Endobutton袢钢板和Rigidfix横穿钉作为目前应用较为广泛的2种股骨端悬挂固定装置,它们的优点是固定强度大,肌腱与骨隧道接触面积大,有利于腱-骨愈合等。但这2种固定方法本身在临床疗效、骨隧道扩大等方面是否存在差异还有争议。 目的：探讨Endobutton袢钢板与Rigidfix横穿钉股骨端固定自体腘绳肌腱重建前交叉韧带术后的转归。 方法：回顾性分析2015年6月至2017年12月开展前交叉韧带重建并进行了第2次关节镜探查的 270例病例。所有患者对治疗方案均知情同意,且得到医院伦理委员会批准。根据股骨端固定方式将患者分成 2 组,Endobutton组150例采用Endobutton袢钢板行自体腘绳肌腱股骨端固定重建前交叉韧带;Rigidfix组120例采用Rigidfix横穿钉行自体腘绳肌腱股骨端固定重建前交叉韧带,2组胫骨端均采用Bioabsorbable Interference Screw+AO空心钉固定。采用 MRI 测量2组骨隧道扩大情况,采用Lysholm评分、国际膝关节文献委员会评分、Tenger评分表及抽屉试验、Lachman试验、轴移试验、KT-1000关节测量仪评价膝评价膝关节功能恢复情况及稳定性;术后1年二次关节镜探查时观察移植物连续性、移植物滑膜覆盖情况以及关节内是否有异常结构。 结果与结论：①所有患者均获得随访,随访时间14-44个月;②术后1年Endobutton组股骨端和胫骨端骨隧道扩大均较Rigidfix组明显(P < 0.05);③术后1年2组患者术后 Lysholm评分、Tegner评分、国际膝关节文献委员会评分均较术前改善(P < 0.05),2组间术后评分差异无显著性意义(P > 0.05);④术后1年2组膝关节活动度对比差异无显著性意义(P > 0.05);⑤二次探查前2组患者前抽屉试验、Lachman试验、轴移试验情况对比差异无显著性意义(P > 0.05);Endobutton组KT-1000侧-侧差值为(1.12±1.20) mm,Rigidfix组KT-1000侧-侧差值为(1.23±0.91)mm,2组对比差异无显著性意义(P > 0.05);⑥二次关节镜探查示Endobutton组患者移植物完全吸收1例、移植物磨损11例;Rigidfix组患者移植物完全吸收2例,移植物磨损15例,2组差异无显著性意义(P > 0.05);⑦二次探查时移植物滑膜覆盖程度Endobutton组优59例,良61例,差30例;Rigidfix组优47例,良49例,差24例,2组差异无显著性意义(P > 0.05);⑧Endobutton组术后并发症的发生率为2.6%,Rigidfix组为6.6%,2组差异无显著性意义(P > 0.05);⑨结果表明,Endobutton袢钢板与Rigidfix横穿钉股骨端固定自体腘绳肌腱重建前交叉韧带效果相当,二次探查移植物滑膜覆盖及连续性无明显差异;但与Rigidfix横穿钉系统相比,股骨端采用 Endobutton固定更易引起骨隧道扩大。 ORCID: 0000-0002-4264-8492(赵立连) 中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：人工关节;骨植入物;脊柱;骨折;内固定;数字化骨科;组织工程     

Effectiveness of a telephone delivered and a face-to-face delivered counseling intervention for smoking cessation in patients with coronary heart disease: a 6-month follow-up

Smoking cessation interventions for cardiac patients need improvement given their weak effects on long-term abstinence rates and low compliance by nurses to implementation. This study tested the effectiveness of two smoking cessation interventions against usual care in cardiac patients, and conditional effects for patients’ motivation to quit and socio-economic status (SES). An experimental study was conducted from 2009 to 2012 for which Dutch cardiac patient smokers were assigned to: usual care (UC; n = 245), telephone counseling (TC; n = 223) or face-to-face counseling (FC; n = 157). The three groups were comparable at baseline and had smoked on average 21 cigarettes a day before hospitalization. After six months, interviews occurred to assess self-reported smoking status. Patients in the TC and FC group had significantly higher smoking abstinence rates than patients in the UC group (p ≤ 0.05 at all times). Regression analysis further revealed significant conditional effects of the interventions on smoking abstinence in patients with lower SES, with a larger effect for TC than FC when compared to UC. These findings suggest that intensive counseling is effective in increasing short-term abstinence rates, particularly in patients with lower SES. Future studies need to investigate how patients with higher SES can profit equally from these type of interventions.     

Effects of Thermal Stress on Hepatic Melanomacrophages of Eupemphix nattereri (Anura)

Melanomacrophages are the pigmented cells present in the hematopoietic organs. Besides melanin, hemosiderin and lipofuscin are also observed in the melanomacrophages. For the liver, however, numerous studies relate these cells to immunological and metabolic functions. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the hepatic metabolism by quantifying melanin, hemosiderin and lipofuscin in the anuran Eupemphix nattereri submitted to varying thermal conditions. E. nattereri adult males were separated into three groups, as follows: (i) five animals in the control group were kept at room temperature (27°C); (ii) 30 animals were submitted to hyperthermic (35.1°C); and (iii) 30 to hypothermic (18.9°) conditions. In each experiment, the animals were analyzed and separated into two different treatments: (1) immediately after undergoing the stress; and, (2) after recovering from the stress caused by the stimulus, at three distinct times (12 hr, 24 hr, and 48 hr). Both hyperthermia and hypothermia decreased hepatic pigmentation after thermal stress. The recovered animals of both experimental treatments showed as much pigmentation as the control animals. Thermal stress alters hemosiderin and lipofuscin as well, which may be related to liver function catabolism. In conclusion, liver pigmentation decreased due to temperature variation and duration of thermal stimulation to which the animals were exposed. The increase in temperature rather than hypothermia led to more drastic physiological disorders. In this study, we observed that thermal stress for a short period compromises the morphology and liver function, as observed by the changing pigmentation of melanomacrophages. These analyses can be used as biomarkers of environmental effects. Anat Rec, 297:864–875, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.