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Photoluminescence and time-resolved luminescence measurements of the band structure of GaxIn1-xAs/InP quantum-well structure show the presence of a strain-induced indirect band. Indirect band structure exhibits a low-energy peak in the photoluminescence spectra due to a phonon-assisted indirect transition. Thermal activation exhibits a shift in the indirect transition to a direct transition. Indirect band structure increases the lifetime at the critical gallium content.

In this study the impact of 25 mg of ketamine racemate given just before surgery on recovery times and postoperative analgesic needs in patients undergoing vaginal hysterectomy and receiving propofol-remifentanil anaesthesia was investigated. With ethics committee approval 70 female patients aged 25–65 years were enrolled. All patients received a total intravenous anaesthesia with remifentanil and propofol with the propofol infusion being controlled to a Narcotrend index of 40. Patients in the ketamine group (n=35) received additionally a bolus dose of 25 mg ketamine racemate intravenously 3 min before skin incision. In addition to monitoring haemodynamics and circulation parameters, recovery times, postoperative pain and opioid needs were also recorded. Patients were also questioned on their satisfaction with the pain therapy. All 70 patients completed the study and the groups were similar with respect to demographic data. The haemodynamics of the patients were stable in both groups and the postoperative pain measured over a 24-h period as well as the opioid needs were also comparable. However, recovery times were significantly prolonged in the ketamine group, e.g. the times to extubation were 8.3±4.0 min with ketamine compared to 6.1±2.1 min in the control group (p<0.01). Undesired side effects were overall rare but occurred to the same extent in both groups. This study demonstrated that 25 mg ketamine racemate given just before surgery significantly prolongs recovery times without reducing post-operative analgesic needs when applied to patients undergoing vaginal hysterectomy and receiving propofol-remifentanil anaesthesia. A bolus dose of 25 mg ketamine racemate cannot therefore be recommended for preemptive analgesia under these conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is a specific and rapid-acting inhibitor of endogenous plasminogen activators (uPA and tPA). The global PAI-1 knockout mice (PAI-1KO) develop age-dependent cardiac-selective fibrosis, and young global PAI-1KO mice exhibit augmented susceptibility to developing cardiac fibrosis in response to hypertension. Here, we tested the hypothesis that cardiomyocyte PAI-1 is necessary to provide cardioprotective effects in a left ventricular pressure overload-induced murine model of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis using cardiomyocyte-specific PAI-1 knockout (cmPAI-1KO) mice. The results revealed that cmPAI-1KO mice display significantly worse cardiac fibrosis than controls. To investigate the molecular mechanisms responsible for these effects, genome-wide cardiac transcriptome analysis was performed. Loss of cardiomyocyte PAI-1 led to differential expression of 978 genes compared to controls in response to left ventricular pressure overload. Pathway enrichment analysis identified the inflammatory response, cell substrate adhesion, regulation of cytokine production, leukocyte migration, extracellular matrix organization, and cytokine-mediated signaling pathways as being significantly upregulated in cmPAI-1KO hearts. Conversely, specific epigenetic repressors, cation transmembrane transport, muscle system processes, and nitric oxide signaling were significantly downregulated in cmPAI-1KO hearts compared to control hearts in response to left ventricular pressure overload. Collectively, the present study provides strong evidence of the impact of cardiomyocyte PAI-1 in regulation of the transcriptome network involved in the cardiac stress response. In response to stress, the deregulatory impact of cardiomyocyte PAI-1 loss on the cardiac transcriptome may be the underlying cause of cardiac-selective accelerated fibrogenesis in global PAI-1-deficient mice., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest AKG: None, AAK: None, MS: None, EL: None, ME: None, AK: None, LDW: None, DEV: None., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Perinatal (during pregnancy and up until one year after birth) depression is one of the most common medical complications of pregnancy and is a major public health issue. The common early detection method to identify depression is to systematically administer depression screens to patients during their usual care clinic encounters. This study investigates how prenatal patients perceive depression screening and how screening informs their treatment to meet the specific needs of different racial and ethnic groups within both community and health care settings., Methods: Between June 2019 and August 2019, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted to explore participants' experiences of depression screening with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Perinatal women ( N = 29) consented to participate in-depth, one-on-one qualitative interviews. Trained patient-researchers ( n = 6), women who had previously experienced a perinatal mental health problem, were trained as research team members and facilitated the interviews alongside a research assistant. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analyzed with the use of Nvivo12. Thematic network analysis was used to analyze the data., Results: Through the in-depth patient engaged qualitative interviews this study uncovered several specific motivators and behaviors related to perinatal depression screening. Using directed content analysis, several themes within a COM-B frame emerged and could be reduced to themes and further divided into two different stages: the depression screening stage and the post-screening stage., Conclusions: The results of this qualitative study provide information for health care providers to improve, adjust, and assess the process of conducting perinatal depression screening among women. The data also provide information for health care facilities to identify a better screening tool and develop and measure their screening process. These findings are essential to design comprehensive patient-centered screening protocols given the increase in state and federal policies urging universal depression screening., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Tabb, Hsieh, Sung, Hoang, Deichen Hansen, Lux and Huang.)

Background: While several demographic and clinical correlates of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcome have been identified, their relationship to virological and immunological parameters remains poorly defined., Methods: To address this, we performed longitudinal collection of nasopharyngeal swabs and blood samples from a cohort of 58 hospitalized adults with COVID-19. Samples were assessed for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral load, viral genotype, viral diversity, and antibody titer. Demographic and clinical information, including patient blood tests and several composite measures of disease severity, was extracted from electronic health records., Results: Several factors, including male sex, higher age, higher body mass index, higher 4C Mortality score, and elevated lactate dehydrogenase levels, were associated with intensive care unit admission. Of all measured parameters, only the retrospectively calculated median Deterioration Index score was significantly associated with death. While quantitative polymerase chain reaction cycle threshold (Ct) values and genotype of SARS-CoV-2 were not significantly associated with outcome, Ct value did correlate positively with C-reactive protein levels and negatively with D-dimer, lymphocyte count, and antibody titer. Intrahost viral genetic diversity remained constant through the disease course and resulted in changes in viral genotype in some participants., Conclusions: Ultimately, these results suggest that worse outcomes are driven by immune dysfunction rather than by viral load and that SARS-CoV-2 evolution in hospital settings is relatively constant over time., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America.)

Numerous studies have established that acute or chronic exposure to environmental pollutants like particulate matter (PM) leads to the development of accelerated aging related pathologies including pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, and thus air pollution is one of the major global threats to human health. Air pollutant particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5 )-induced cellular dysfunction impairs tissue homeostasis and causes vascular and cardiopulmonary damage. To test a hypothesis that elevated plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels play a pivotal role in air pollutant-induced cardiopulmonary pathologies, we examined the efficacy of a drug-like novel inhibitor of PAI-1, TM5614, in treating PM 2.5 -induced vascular and cardiopulmonary pathologies. Results from biochemical, histological, and immunohistochemical studies revealed that PM 2.5 increases the circulating levels of PAI-1 and thrombin and that TM5614 treatment completely abrogates these effects in plasma. PM 2.5 significantly augments the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and this also can be reversed by TM5614, indicating its efficacy in amelioration of PM 2.5 -induced increases in inflammatory and pro-thrombotic factors. TM5614 reduces PM 2.5 -induced increased levels of inflammatory markers cluster of differentiation 107 b (Mac3) and phospho-signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (pSTAT3), adhesion molecule vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1), and apoptotic marker cleaved caspase 3. Longer exposure to PM 2.5 induces pulmonary and cardiac thrombosis, but TM5614 significantly ameliorates PM 2.5 -induced vascular thrombosis. TM5614 also reduces PM 2.5 -induced increased blood pressure and heart weight. In vitro cell culture studies revealed that PM 2.5 induces the levels of PAI-1, type I collagen, fibronectin (Millipore), and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 and 2 (SREBP-1 and SREBP-2), transcription factors that mediate profibrogenic signaling, in cardiac fibroblasts. TM5614 abrogated that stimulation, indicating that it may block PM 2.5 -induced PAI-1 and profibrogenic signaling through suppression of SREBP-1 and 2. Furthermore, TM5614 blocked PM 2.5 -mediated suppression of nuclear factor erythroid related factor 2 (Nrf2), a major antioxidant regulator, in cardiac fibroblasts. Pharmacological inhibition of PAI-1 with TM5614 is a promising therapeutic approach to control air pollutant PM 2.5 -induced cardiopulmonary and vascular pathologies., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) is a functional biomarker of the metabolic syndrome. Previous studies have demonstrated that PAI-1 is a mechanistic contributor to several elements of the syndrome, including obesity, hypertension and insulin resistance. Here we show that PAI-1 is also a critical regulator of hepatic lipid metabolism. RNA sequencing revealed that PAI-1 directly regulates the transcriptional expression of numerous genes involved in mammalian lipid homeostasis, including PCSK9 and FGF21. Pharmacologic or genetic reductions in plasma PAI-1 activity ameliorates hyperlipidemia in vivo. These experimental findings are complemented with the observation that genetic deficiency of PAI-1 is associated with reduced plasma PCSK9 levels in humans. Taken together, our findings identify PAI-1 as a novel contributor to mammalian lipid metabolism and provides a fundamental mechanistic insight into the pathogenesis of one of the most pervasive medical problems worldwide.

Background: Frailty phenotype and deficit-accumulation frailty index (FI) are widely used measures of frailty. Their performance in predicting recovery after surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has not been compared., Methods: Patients undergoing SAVR (n = 91) or TAVR (n = 137) at an academic medical center were prospectively assessed for frailty phenotype and FI. Outcomes were death or poor recovery, defined as a decline in ability to perform 22 daily activities and New York Heart Association class 3 or 4 at 6 months after surgery. The predictive ability of frailty phenotype versus FI and their additive value to a traditional surgical risk model were evaluated using C-statistics, net reclassification improvement (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement., Results: TAVR patients had higher prevalence of phenotypic frailty (85% vs 38%, p < .001) and greater mean FI (0.37 vs 0.24, p < .001) than SAVR patients. In the overall cohort, FI had a higher C-statistic than frailty phenotype (0.74 vs 0.63, p = .01) for predicting death or poor recovery. Adding FI to the traditional model improved prediction (NRI, 26.4%, p = .02; integrated discrimination improvement, 7.7%, p < .001), while adding phenotypic frailty did not (NRI, 4.0%, p = .70; integrated discrimination improvement, 1.6%, p = .08). The additive value of FI was evident in TAVR patients (NRI, 42.8%, p < .01) but not in SAVR patients (NRI, 25.0%, p = .29). Phenotypic frailty did not add significantly in either TAVR (NRI, 6.8%, p = .26) or SAVR patients (NRI, 25.0%, p = .29)., Conclusions: Deficit-accumulation FI provides better prediction of death or poor recovery than frailty phenotype in older patients undergoing SAVR and TAVR., (© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Epigenetic dysregulation plays a crucial role in cardiovascular diseases. Previously, we reported that acetyltransferase p300 (ATp300) inhibitor L002 prevents hypertension-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in a murine model. In this short communication, we show that treatment of hypertensive mice with ATp300-specific small molecule inhibitor L002 or C646 reverses hypertension-induced left ventricular hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis and diastolic dysfunction, without reducing elevated blood pressures. Biochemically, treatment with L002 and C646 also reverse hypertension-induced histone acetylation and myofibroblast differentiation in murine ventricles. Our results confirm and extend the role of ATp300, a major epigenetic regulator, in the pathobiology of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. Most importantly, we identify the efficacies of ATp300 inhibitors C646 and L002 in reversing hypertension-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, and discover new anti-hypertrophic and anti-fibrotic candidates., (© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine.)

Importance: Functional status is a patient-centered outcome that is important for a meaningful gain in health-related quality of life after aortic valve replacement., Objective: To determine functional status trajectories in the year after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR)., Design, Setting, and Participants: A prospective cohort study with a 12-month follow-up was conducted at a single academic center in 246 patients undergoing TAVR or SAVR for severe aortic stenosis. The study was conducted between February 1, 2014, and June 30, 2017; data analysis was performed from December 27, 2017, to May 7, 2018., Exposures: Preoperative comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed and a deficit-accumulation frailty index (CGA-FI) (range, 0-1; higher values indicate greater frailty) was calculated., Main Outcomes and Measures: Telephone interviews were conducted to assess self-reported ability to perform 22 activities and physical tasks at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the procedure., Results: Of the 246 patients included in the study, 143 underwent TAVR (74 [51.7%] women; mean [SD] age, 84.2 [5.9] years), and 103 underwent SAVR (46 [44.7%] women; age, 78.1 [5.3] years). Five trajectories were identified based on functional status at baseline and during the follow-up: from excellent at baseline to improvement at follow-up (excellent baseline-improvement), good (high baseline-full recovery), fair (moderate baseline-minimal decline), poor (low baseline-moderate decline), and very poor (low baseline-large decline). After TAVR, the most common trajectory was fair (54 [37.8%]), followed by good (33 [23.1%]), poor (21 [14.7%]), excellent (20 [14.0%]), and very poor (12 [8.4%]) trajectories. After SAVR, the most common trajectory was good (39 [37.9%]), followed by excellent (38 [36.9%]), fair (20 [19.4%]), poor (3 [2.9%]), and very poor (1 [1.0%]) trajectories. Preoperative frailty level was associated with lower probability of functional improvement and greater probability of functional decline. After TAVR, patients with CGA-FI level of 0.20 or lower had excellent (3 [50.0%]) or good (3 [50.0%]) trajectories, whereas most patients with CGA-FI level of 0.51 or higher had poor (10 [45.5%]) or very poor (5 [22.7%]) trajectories. After SAVR, most patients with CGA-FI level of 0.20 or lower had excellent (24 [58.5%]) or good (15 [36.6%]) trajectories compared with a fair trajectory (5 [71.4%]) in those with CGA-FI levels of 0.41 to 0.50. Postoperative delirium and major complications were associated with functional decline after TAVR (delirium present vs absent: 14 [50.0%] vs 11 [13.4%]; complications present vs absent: 14 [51.9%] vs 19 [16.4%]) or lack of improvement after SAVR (delirium present vs absent: 27 [69.2%] vs 31 [81.6%]; complications present vs absent: 10 [62.5%] vs 69 [79.3%])., Conclusions and Relevance: The findings suggest that functional decline or lack of improvement is common in older adults with severe frailty undergoing TAVR or SAVR. Although this nonrandomized study does not allow comparison of the effectiveness between TAVR and SAVR, anticipated functional trajectories may inform patient-centered decision making and perioperative care to optimize functional outcomes.

Objectives: To use restricted mean survival time, which summarizes treatment effects in terms of event-free time over a fixed time period, to evaluate the benefit of pravastatin therapy for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in older adults., Design: Secondary analysis of the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial-Lipid-Lowering Trial (ALLHAT-LLT)., Setting: Ambulatory setting., Participants: Individuals aged 65 and older (mean aged 71, 49% female) free of cardiovascular disease (N=2,867)., Intervention: Pravastatin 40 mg/d (n=1,467) versus usual care (n=1,400)., Measurements: We estimated the difference in RMST for total and coronary heart disease (CHD)-free survival between the pravastatin and usual care groups over the 6-year trial period and used parametric survival models to estimate RMST differences projected over 10 years., Results: Over 6 years, individuals treated with pravastatin lived (RMST 2,008.1 days), on average, 33.7 fewer days than those receiving usual care (RMST 2,041.8 days) (difference -33.7 days, 95% confidence interval (CI)=-67.0 to -0.5 days, p=.047). Pravastatin-treated individuals lived RMST 2,088.1 days), on average, 18.7 more days free of CHD over 6 years than those receiving usual care (RMST 2,069.4 days), but this difference was not statistically significant (difference 18.7 days, 95% CI=-10.4-47.8 days, p=.21). The 10-year projection showed that pravastatin-treated individuals would live 108.1 fewer days (95% CI=-204.5 to -14.1, p=.03) than those receiving usual care, although treated individuals would gain 77.9 days (95% CI=3.8-159.6, p=.046) of CHD-free survival., Conclusion: RMST provides an intuitive and explicit way to express the effect of pravastatin therapy on CHD-free and overall survival in older adults free of cardiovascular disease. This measure allows a more personalized interpretation than hazard ratios of the benefits and risks of a medical intervention for decision-making., (© 2018, Copyright the Author Journal compilation © 2018, The American Geriatrics Society.)

Objective: The development of chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) is influenced by several factors. The risk index for chronic pain (RICP) was developed to identify patients at high risk for CPSP. The aim of this study was the external validation and update of the RICP., Design: Prospective cohort study., Setting: Two German hospitals., Subjects: Participants who underwent orthopedic surgery, general surgery, visceral surgery, and neurosurgery., Methods: The predicted outcome was CPSP at six months. We validated the original RICP externally and performed a model update. Analysis was performed using logistic regression. We analyzed the discrimination and calibration of the model. Furthermore, the updated model was internally validated., Results: We included 205 patients. The mean age of participants was 51 years. CPSP was reported by 53.9% of participants. In our population, the original RICP (preoperative pain in the operating field, other preoperative pain, postoperative acute pain, capacity overload, and comorbid stress symptoms) showed a sensitivity of 0.708 and a specificity of 0.727 (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.766, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.688-0.843). The updated RICP (preoperative pain in the operating field, other preoperative pain, postoperative acute pain, sex, marital status) yielded a sensitivity of 0.746 and a specificity of 0.726 (AUC = 0.813, 95% CI = 0.740-0.886). The results were confirmed by cross-validation. Pre- and postoperative pain measures showed the highest predictive ability., Discussion: The study indicates external validity of the original RICP. The updated RICP also showed good predictive ability. The results are limited by the small sample size and the amount of missing outcome data.

Background: Opioids are critical for managing cancer pain, but may provide inadequate relief and/or unacceptable side effects in some cases., Objective: To assess the analgesic efficacy of adjunctive Sativex (Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (27 mg/mL): cannabidiol (25 mg/mL)) in advanced cancer patients with chronic pain unalleviated by optimized opioid therapy., Methods: This report describes two phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials. Eligible patients had advanced cancer and average pain numerical rating scale (NRS) scores ≥4 and ≤8 at baseline, despite optimized opioid therapy. In Study-1, patients were randomized to Sativex or placebo, and then self-titrated study medications over a 2-week period per effect and tolerability, followed by a 3-week treatment period. In Study-2, all patients self-titrated Sativex over a 2-week period. Patients with a ≥15% improvement from baseline in pain score were then randomized 1:1 to Sativex or placebo, followed by 5-week treatment period (randomized withdrawal design)., Results: The primary efficacy endpoint (percent improvement (Study-1) and mean change (Study-2) in average daily pain NRS scores) was not met in either study. Post hoc analyses of the primary endpoints identified statistically favourable treatment effect for Sativex in US patients <65 years (median treatment difference: 8.8; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.00-17.95; p = 0.040) that was not observed in patients <65 years from the rest of the world (median treatment difference: 0.2; 95% CI: -5.00 to 7.74; p = 0.794). Treatment effect in favour of Sativex was observed on quality-of-life questionnaires, despite the fact that similar effects were not observed on NRS score. The safety profile of Sativex was consistent with earlier studies, and no evidence of abuse or misuse was identified., Conclusions: Sativex did not demonstrate superiority to placebo in reducing self-reported pain NRS scores in advanced cancer patients with chronic pain unalleviated by optimized opioid therapy, although further exploration of differences between United States and patients from the rest of the world is warranted., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Hypertension-associated end-organ damage commonly leads to cardiac and renal fibrosis. As no effective anti-fibrotic therapy currently exists, the unchecked progression of fibrogenesis manifests as cardio-renal failure and early death. We have previously shown that FATp300-p300 with intrinsic factor acetyltransferase activity-is an essential epigenetic regulator of fibrogenesis, and is elevated in several fibrotic tissues. In this report, we investigate the therapeutic efficacy of a novel FATp300 inhibitor, L002, in a murine model of hypertensive cardio-renal fibrosis. Additionally, we examine the effects of L002 on cellular pro-fibrogenic processes and provide mechanistic insights into its antifibrogenic action. Utilizing cardiac fibroblasts, podocytes, and mesangial cells, we demonstrate that L002 blunts FATp300-mediated acetylation of specific histones. Further, incubating cells with L002 suppresses several pro-fibrogenic processes including cellular proliferation, migration, myofibroblast differentiation and collagen synthesis. Importantly, systemic administration of L002 in mice reduces hypertension-associated pathological hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis and renal fibrosis. The anti-hypertrophic and anti-fibrotic effects of L002 were independent of blood pressure regulation. Our work solidifies the role of epigenetic regulator FATp300 in fibrogenesis and establishes it as a pharmacological target for reducing pathological matrix remodeling and associated pathologies. Additionally, we discover a new therapeutic role of L002, as it ameliorates hypertension-induced cardio-renal fibrosis and antagonizes pro-fibrogenic responses in fibroblasts, podocytes and mesangial cells.

Introduction: Since 2009, based on an agreement to implement palliative care for terminally ill patients at home in Westfalia-Lippe, family doctors and palliative doctors cooperate, supported by coordinators., Method: Since 2009, this cooperation is evaluated, concerning supply structure, number of patients and their places of death., Results: In Westfalia-Lippe, yearly approx. 91.000 patients die, approx. 19 % of them, 17.699 patients, were included in palliative care structures, compared to some 6 % in 2009/2010. Whereas in the first years about 70 % of the palliative patients died at home, 2014 this number increased to 75 %. Only 9 % of our patients 2014 died in a hospital (normal ward) - compared to about 13 % in 2009/2010. This applies both for urban and rural areas., Conclusions: The idea of home based, family doctor supported palliative care led to a significant strengthening of the general out-patient palliative care. The number of patients, integrated in our structures of palliative care in 2014 tripled compare to those of 2009/2010. Well trained and experienced coordinators are the essential guarantee of multidisciplinary and multiprofessional team-work. The results of the regional palliative care structures are different also after the agreement came in effect. Data for quality assurance should be periodically collected and evaluated in the future to develop the palliative care structures for outpatients., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Background and Objectives: Up until recently no tool for quality assurance (QA) of outpatient pain therapy after outpatient surgery, which currently constitutes one third of all operations, was available with benchmarking capacity. The QUIPS (German abbreviation for quality assurance in postoperative pain therapy) questionnaire, that had primarily been developed and established for inpatient postoperative pain therapy, was to be optimized to not only incorporate the issues with regard to outpatient operations but also a revision for use in the clinical routine., Material and Methods: An interdisciplinary task force reviewed and optimized the QUIPS questionnaire. The optimized questionnaire was then used within the scope of outpatient surgery in their clinics. A total of 121 patients and 12 surgeons received a questionnaire on the first postoperative day containing questions on acceptance and understandability of the QUIPS patient outcome questionnaire., Results: Of the patients 12 (9.9 %) did not understand the original question on special pain therapy procedures stated during the preoperative counseling. For 15 patients (12.4 %) the original questions on chronic or pre-existing pain were misleading and 4 out of the 12 surgeons (33 %) did not conclusively understand these questions. The optimized questionnaire modified the questions in the preoperative counseling in the segment of postoperative pain as follows: question E1 was changed to a yes/no answer. Question E13 was modified to "how content were you with respect to your post-operative pain therapy?" Question E14 was modified to "did you suffer from other pain prior to the operation, hence pain that continued in addition to the postoperative pain?" These changes improved the understandability of the QUIPS patient outcome questionnaire. Surgeons required on average 9.7 min (SD ±3.2 min) to complete the QUIPS documentation sheets and 83 % of the surgeons rated the optimized QUIPS module as usable in the daily routine. The new module QUIPSambulant will soon be available for download on the QUIPS internet website., Discussion: By reducing items on the QUIPS documentation sheets with respect to items relevant for outpatient surgery and redesigning three questions in the patient outcome questionnaire, a new QUIPS module for the QA of postoperative pain in an ambulatory setting is now available for both patients and surgeons. The necessity for quality management (QM) with regard to postoperative pain therapy after outpatient surgery can be considered assured. To what extent the newly adapted QM tool QUIPSambulant will be deemed suitable in a routine hospital setting remains to be seen and requires ongoing investigation.

Background: On 2009-04-01 the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians Westfalia-Lippe and health insurance organizations made an agreement to implement palliative home care for terminally ill patients. Based on this agreement, family doctors and palliativecardoctorscooperate,supported by coordinators., Method: 12 and 36 months after coming into effect of the agreement a questionnaire was sent to the regional palliative care networks to collect data about supply structure, number of patients and their place of death., Results: In the year 2011 85,410 people died in Westfalia-Lippe, 9.0% of them were included in palliative care structures. 69.5% of the included patients died at home, 9.9% in hospital (in 2010: 68.7% at home, 14.7% in hospital). A correlation between the population density or the number of included patients per palliative networkcould not be detected., Conclusion: Low-threshold access to palliative care networks(bothfamilydoctorand patientcancontact the palliative care team at any time) improves ambulant palliative care. Non-bureaucratic change from general home palliative care (German abbreviation: AAPV) to specialized home palliative care (SAPV) has proven successful in Westfalia-Lippe. Well-trained and experienced coordinators guarantee multidisciplinary and multiprofessional working of palliative care teams. In order to enhance palliative care in Westfalia-Lippe, data for quality assurance should be defined, periodically collected and evaluated in the future.

Background: Only limited data and experience with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) in outpatients for palliative home care, related to organization, effectiveness and costs are available., Patients and Methods: In our retrospective study we analyzed the effectiveness, care intensity and pain reduction of 108 palliative cancer pain patients with PCA, included in a palliative home care system., Results: After equivalent conversion of the opioid doses from oral/transcutaneus to parenteral administration a dose increase was necessary in 12.9% of the patients. The pain therapy was effective until death for an average of 38.9 days (median 21 days). During 3,889 days of PCA therapy there were 76 unscheduled visits based on technical problems., Conclusion: In cases of cancer pain patients with failed oral or transcutaneous opioid medication, sufficient pain reduction can be achieved with parenteral drug administration by PCA. Domestic PCA requires a lot of human and financial resources, with trained nursing services and regular house visits by physicians experienced in palliative medicine but this method is sufficient and safe to use.

We report on the intrathecal use of ziconotide in three patients with idiopathic facial pain after surgery of the mouth, jaw or face and one patient with neuropathic pain after damage of the lingual nerve. The therapy was successful in three patients but one patient with idiopathic facial pain had pain relief only during the test phase of ziconotide with an external pump and not after implanting the Synchromed® pump. With intrathecal morphine therapy this patient achieved good pain relief. We recommend that patients with neuropathic facial pain should be treated with ziconotide after implementation of guideline-based therapy. In the test phase the ziconotide dose should be increased by 0.6 µg/day per week after an initial dose of 0.6-1.2 µg/day to avoid side-effects.

Background: Data on practice and quality of postoperative pain treatment by anaesthesiologists after ambulatory surgery are sparse. The current survey enrolled anaesthesiologists in private practice who were responsible for pain therapy after ambulatory surgery. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the implementation of the German S3 guidelines for acute and postoperative pain therapy in the outpatient setting., Patients and Methods: A total of 2,156 anaesthesiologists in private practice received a postal questionnaire which was limited to those anaesthesiologists who were responsible for postoperative pain therapy. The questionnaire included items such as types of surgery, techniques of anaesthesia and analgesic drugs used for pain management during the immediate postoperative phase and for the treatment at home as well as details of pain measurement., Results: Out of 116 responses 108 could be analyzed covering a total of 86,616 patients receiving postoperative pain therapy, 80% of the operations were performed using general anaesthesia and local anaesthesia was additionally used in 9% of the institutions. In the perioperative period 66% of the respondents administered non-steroidal-antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), 62% metamizol (dipyrone), 41% paracetamol (acetaminophen) and 73% opioids. After discharge 81% of the responding anaesthesiologists prescribed NSAIDs, 55% metamizol and 47% opioids for pain relief at home. Only 40% of the respondents measured and documented pain intensity. Nearly all respondents (93%) were satisfied with their pain management after outpatient surgery., Conclusions: Pain therapy after ambulatory surgery significantly varied with respect to the methods, drugs and measures of quality assurance used by anaesthesiologists in private praxis. This survey demonstrated that the national guidelines of acute pain therapy have only been partially implemented., (© Deutsche Gesellschaft zum Studium des Schmerzes)

Background: The subject of pain and pain therapy is not mandatory in medical curricula in Germany. Therefore, the German Society for the Study of Pain (DGSS) has developed a core-curriculum for pain and suggested its implementation for all medical faculties., Method: At the University of Witten/Herdecke this DGSS core curriculum was extended in terms of a "pain week", which comprised 22 h of seminars and clinical teaching and started in 2009. The knowledge gained by the students regarding the intended learning issues was measured by a pre-post self-assessment questionnaire., Results: In almost every category the students reported significant knowledge gain. The learning issues were rated as relevant for the professional career., Conclusion: The "pain week" is intended to be a constant part of the medical curriculum at the University of Witten/Herdecke in the future. It will be integrated into the new cross-sectional subject of palliative care and be assessed by examinations.

Sea urchin teeth grow continuously and develop a complex mineralized structure consisting of spatially separate but crystallographically aligned first stage calcitic elements of high Mg content (5-15 mol% mineral). These become cemented together by epitaxially oriented second stage very high Mg calcite (30-40 mol% mineral). In the tooth plumula, ingressing preodontoblasts create layered cellular syncytia. Mineral deposits develop within membrane-bound compartments between cellular syncytial layers. We seek to understand how this complex tooth architecture is developed, how individual crystalline calcitic elements become crystallographically aligned, and how their Mg composition is regulated. Synchrotron microbeam X-ray scattering was performed on live, freshly dissected teeth. We observed that the initial diffracting crystals lie within independent syncytial spaces in the plumula. These diffraction patterns match those of mature tooth calcite. Thus, the spatially separate crystallites grow with the same crystallographic orientation seen in the mature tooth. Mineral-related proteins from regions with differing Mg contents were isolated, sequenced, and characterized. A tooth cDNA library was constructed, and selected matrix-related proteins were cloned. Antibodies were prepared and used for immunolocaliztion. Matrix-related proteins are acidic, phosphorylated, and associated with the syncytial membranes. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy of various crystal elements shows unique amino acid, Mg, and Ca ion distributions. High and very high Mg calcites differ in Asp content. Matrix-related proteins are phosphorylated. Very high Mg calcite is associated with Asp-rich protein, and it is restricted to the second stage mineral. Thus, the composition at each part of the tooth is related to architecture and function., (Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.)