The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) and quality of life (QOL). Furthermore, in patients with major LARS, therapeutic management ...options were explored.
A cohort of surviving patients, who underwent a low anterior resection for rectal cancer after long course of radiochemotherapy, were identified. These patients were treated in Ghent University Hospital between 2006 and 2016. QOL was assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality Of Life questionnaire-C30 and the bowel function using the LARS-score. The relationship between LARS and QOL was analysed. Patients with major LARS (≥30 points) were contacted to explore their therapeutic management of LARS.
69% of the participants had major LARS. QOL was closely associated with LARS. Significant differences were found between those with and without LARS in the global health status (p ≤ 0.001) and in the following functional scales: physical (p ≤ 0.001), role (p ≤ 0.001), cognitive (p = 0.04) and social (p ≤ 0.001). Patients with major LARS experienced more diarrhea (p ≤ 0.001), fatigue (p = 0.002), insomnia (p ≤ 0.001) and pain (p = 0.02), compared to patient with no/minor LARS. Most patients tried dietary regimens (71%), medication (71%) and incontinence material (63.8%) in an attempt to manage their LARS and found some of them useful. The level of the anastomosis (low) was a significant risk factor for major LARS (p=0.03).
More than half of the patients in this cohort still suffered from major LARS. Patients confronted with major LARS had a lower QOL than patients with no/minor LARS. Currently, there is no gold standard for the management of LARS. Patients manage it through trial and error.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
A series of fluorophores with single-exponential fluorescence decays in liquid solution at 20 °C were measured independently by nine laboratories using single-photon timing and multifrequency phase ...and modulation fluorometry instruments with lasers as excitation source. The dyes that can serve as fluorescence lifetime standards for time-domain and frequency-domain measurements are all commercially available, are photostable under the conditions of the measurements, and are soluble in solvents of spectroscopic quality (methanol, cyclohexane, water). These lifetime standards are anthracene, 9-cyanoanthracene, 9,10-diphenylanthracene, N-methylcarbazole, coumarin 153, erythrosin B, N-acetyl-l-tryptophanamide, 1,4-bis(5-phenyloxazol-2-yl)benzene, 2,5-diphenyloxazole, rhodamine B, rubrene, N-(3-sulfopropyl)acridinium, and 1,4-diphenylbenzene. At 20 °C, the fluorescence lifetimes vary from 89 ps to 31.2 ns, depending on fluorescent dye and solvent, which is a useful range for modern pico- and nanosecond time-domain or mega- to gigahertz frequency-domain instrumentation. The decay times are independent of the excitation and emission wavelengths. Dependent on the structure of the dye and the solvent, the excitation wavelengths used range from 284 to 575 nm, the emission from 330 to 630 nm. These lifetime standards may be used to either calibrate or test the resolution of time- and frequency-domain instrumentation or as reference compounds to eliminate the color effect in photomultiplier tubes. Statistical analyses by means of two-sample charts indicate that there is no laboratory bias in the lifetime determinations. Moreover, statistical tests show that there is an excellent correlation between the lifetimes estimated by the time-domain and frequency-domain fluorometries. Comprehensive tables compiling the results for 20 (fluorescence lifetime standard/solvent) combinations are given.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
ABSTRACTSpeed and acceleration are highly valued in ice hockey and frequently assessed using timing systems. Coaches must use reliable timing systems to assess these attributes, but many systems have ...not been thoroughly evaluated and the required number of sprint repetitions to obtain the coach’s desired degree of reliability for a system may be impractical. This study aimed to compare the reliability of a single photocell (PC), a single laser with a microprocessor (LA), and a digital video camera (VC); and in doing so, evaluate the influence of completing additional sprint repetitions on each systems’ reliability. We hypothesized that PC and LA would yield different times, have inferior reliability, and require a larger number of sprint repetitions to obtain the same degree of reliability compared to VC. Seventeen male ice hockey players completed five repetitions of a 9.15-m on ice skating sprint timed simultaneously by PC, LA, and VC. The times obtained from VC were narrowly distributed around the mean compared to PC and LA, and resulted in a mean sprint time approximately 0.05- and 0.07-s faster than PC and LA, respectively (PC1.74-s (95% CI 1.72-1.76); LA1.76-s 1.74-1.78; VC1.69-s 1.67-1.70). When two sprint repetitions were completed, PC and LA typical error (TE) and smallest worthwhile difference (SWD) were 2.8- and 4.3-fold greater than VC, respectively. As more repetitions were completed TE and SWD for PC and LA improved but remained approximately 2-fold greater than VC even when five repetitions were completed. With a smaller TE and SWD, VC was able to detect smaller “real” changes in a player’s sprint performance over time compared to PC and LA.
There is a paucity of literature describing potential issues related to lateral hand dominance in general and cardiac surgery. Nonetheless, during surgical training left-handedness can produce ...difficulties in the operating room that are not always understood or accepted by supervising right-handed surgeons. These problems can be easily overcome by practice and anticipation. This report aims to address laterality related issues in cardiac surgery and provide insight into techniques that may aid the left handed surgeon in a right handed dominated surgical environment. An ergonomically different approach, more convenient for the left-handed trainee, may facilitate learning, enhance confidence and increase surgeon satisfaction both for the trainer and trainee.
Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated RNAi interference (RNAi) is a powerful post-transcriptional gene silencing mechanism which can be used to study the function of genes
in vitro
(cell cultures) ...and
in vivo
(animal models). However, there is a translational gap between these models. Hence, there is a need for novel experimental models that combine the advantages of
in vitro
and
in vivo
models (e.g., simplicity, flexibility, throughput, and representability) to study the effects of siRNA. This need may be addressed by precision-cut tissue slices (PCTS), which represent an
ex vivo
model that mimics the structural and functional characteristics of a whole organ. The goal of this study was to investigate whether self-deliverable siRNA (Accell siRNA) can be used in precision-cut lung slices (PCLuS) and precision-cut kidney slices (PCKS) to achieve RNAi
ex vivo
. PCLuS and PCKS were prepared from mouse tissue, and they were subsequently incubated up to 48 h with no siRNA (untransfected), non-targeting Accell siRNA, or
Gapdh
-targeting Accell siRNA. Significant
Gapdh
mRNA silencing was achieved (PCLuS ~ 55%; PCKS ~ 40%) without compromising the viability and morphology of slices. Fluorescence microscopy confirmed that Accell siRNA diffused into PCLuS and PCKS. Spontaneous inflammation upon incubation was observed in PCLuS and PCKS as shown by a higher mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines
Il1b
,
Il6
, and
Tnfa
, although Accell siRNA appeared to diminish this response in PCLuS after 24 h. In conclusion, this
ex vivo
transfection model can be used to evaluate the effects of siRNA in relevant biological environments.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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