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Catherine R Jutzeler,1–3 Freda M Warner,1,2 Jacquelyn J Cragg,1,3 Jenny Haefeli,4 J Scott Richards,5 Sven R Andresen,6 Nanna B Finnerup,7,8 Catherine Mercier,9 John LK Kramer1,2 1Faculty of Medicine, ICORD, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; 2Faculty of Education, School of Kinesiology, University of BC, Vancouver, BC, Canada; 3Faculty of Medicine, Spinal Cord Injury Center, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; 4Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Department of Neurological Surgery, Brain and Spinal Injury Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; 5Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA; 6Spinal Cord Injury Centre of Western Denmark, Department of Neurology, Regional Hospital of Viborg, Viborg, Denmark; 7Danish Pain Research Centre, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; 8Department of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 9Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Québec, QC, Canada Background: Understanding factors associated with high placebo responses in clinical trials increases the likelihood of detecting a meaningful treatment effect. The aim of the present study was to identify subject-level factors that contribute to placebo variability in patients with neuropathic pain due to spinal cord injury (SCI).Methods: Multiple regression analysis of patient data from randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials (duration >4 weeks) involving individuals with SCI was performed. Patient demographics, as well as injury and pain characteristics were examined for their association with changes in pain rating from baseline to the end of the trial (i.e., placebo response). The overall effect of individual predictors was quantified with meta-analysis statistics.Results: A total of 276 patients with SCI from six studies were included in the analysis. Based on the meta-analysis of subject-level predictors, larger placebo responses were associated with male subjects (β=0.635; standard error [SE]=0.262; p=0.016) and higher baseline pain (β=−0.146; SE=0.073; p=0.044). There were no significant effects for injury characteristics (i.e., severity, level, and time since injury) or pain characteristics (i.e., location and evoked). No significant publication bias was detected.Conclusion: The current meta-analysis of individual patient data demonstrated the importance of sex and baseline pain intensity on changes in pain ratings in the placebo arm of SCI central neuropathic pain randomized controlled clinical trials. Overall, our findings indicate that placebo responses occur independent of injury characteristics. Keywords: placebo response, clinical trial, spinal cord injury, neuropathic pain

Des ombles chevalier de 1 à 2 hivers ont été marqués et Iâchés dans le Léman pour voir le devenir de ces poissons de pisciculture dans le lac. Les marques dorsales donnent de meilleurs pourcentages de retours que les marques maxillaires, tandis que le cryomarquage passe inaperçu des pêcheurs une centaine de jours après l'immersion des poissons dans le lac. La croissance en longueur des poissons d'un hiver est comparable à celle des ombles de pisciculture; à cet âge, dans le lac, le zooplancton constitue la base de la nourriture. Les ombles de deux hivers accusent par contre un retard de croissance important par rapport à ceux du même âge gardés en pisciculture. Le mode de marquage maxillaire pourrait expliquer ce fait bien que sur des ombles d'un hiver les tests statistiques ne révèlent aucune influence du type de marquage sur la croissance en longueur. L'appauvrissement de la faune benthique. proie habituelle des ombles, lié à l'altération de la qualité de l'eau du Léman, pourrait également expliquer ce retard de croissance. On note chez les ombles marqués une inclination très nette à vivre en bancs et, pour ceux d'entre eux qui sont lâchés le long des côtessuddu lac, une tendance à migrer sur les rives septentrionales. Ce comportement profite aux pêcheurs suisses. Les lâchers d'ombles marqués bénéficient également davantage aux pêcheurs professionnels qu'aux pêcheurs amateurs. Quelques conclusions sur les meilleures conditions de lâchers d'ombles de pisciculture peuvent être tirées de ce travail qui demande à être complété, après mise au point d'un mode de marquage correct, par une appréciation de l'efficacité des peuplements réalisés avec des alevins.

In this study, the deposition of apatite on the surface of the glasses with a composition of 22.25Na2O--13.5CaO--2.5P2O5--6.75CaF2--(55-3x) SiO2--xSi3N4 (x is the no. of moles of Si3N4) (where x = 0-4), was studied to examine the influence of nitrogen content on their properties, bioactivity and viability. It was established that density, glass transition temperatures, Young's modulus of elasticity, Vicker's microhardness and fracture toughness increased significantly with increasing nitrogen concentration. Bioactivity was investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Hydroxyapatite (HCA) layer thickness was determined using a scanning electron microscope coupled with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The bioactivity of the glasses was evaluated by dipping them in a simulated body fluid (SBF) and demonstrated that all glasses are bioactive. Cytotoxicity tests using different concentrations of bioglass powders in a cell growth environment further demonstrated that they were not cytotoxic. The biofilm formation by two bacteria's E. coli and S. marcescens was characterized by the absorbance of crystal violet. The influence on the presence of bacteria in the form of biofilms appears to be affected by the combination of two main factors: glass reactivity and nitrogen content. Additionally, the type or characteristics of the bacteria also play a significant role in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The association between poverty and intellectual disability (ID) has been well documented. However, little is known about persons with ID who face circumstances of extreme poverty, such as homelessness. This paper describes the situation of persons with ID who were or are homeless in Montreal and are currently receiving services from a team dedicated to homeless persons. Aims: (1) To describe the characteristics, history and current situation of these persons; and (2) to report within-group differences as a function of gender and current residential status. Methods: The data were collected from files using an anonymous chart summary. Descriptive statistics on the whole sample (n = 68) and inferential statistics on cross-tabulations by gender and residential status were performed. Results: Persons with ID exhibited several related problems. Some of these persons, primarily women, experienced relatively short periods of homelessness and their situations stabilised once they were identified and followed up. Other persons with ID experienced chronic homelessness that appeared to parallel the number and severity of their other problems. When compared with a previous epidemiological study of the homeless in Montreal, the population of homeless persons with ID differed from the overall homeless population in a number of respects. Conclusion: The results suggest prevention and intervention targets. The need for epidemiological research appears particularly clear in light of the fact that below-average intellectual functioning has been identified as a risk factor for homelessness and a predisposing factor for vulnerability among street people.

Background: Despite the heterogeneity in aggressive behaviours observed among individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID), little attention has been paid to the identification of typologies of aggression among individuals with mild or moderate ID and their associated factors. Objective: The goal of the present study was to identify profiles of aggressive behaviour and their psychosocial correlates. Method: In this cross-sectional study of 296 adults with mild or moderate ID, information was gathered through interviews with the ID participants, their case manager and a significant other. Client files were also reviewed. Results: Multiple correspondence analysis followed by hierarchical cluster analysis generated six distinct profiles of aggressive behaviour in this sample. The "violent" group clearly stood out as lacking social and vocational involvement, having more severe mental health problems, high levels of impulsivity and antisocial tendencies compared with all other groups. Discussion: The identification of distinct profiles of aggressive behaviour offers new possibilities for studying risk factors and eventually targeting specific risk prevention strategies.

Background: Aggressive behaviours represent major obstacles to the integration into society of individuals with intellectual disability (ID) and pose significant management issues for carers. Methods: The present study assessed the prevalence and severity of five types of aggressive behaviours in 3165 adult men and women with ID receiving services from three rehabilitation agencies in Quebec by surveying their carers using the Modified Overt Aggressive Scale. Results: The 12-month prevalence of aggressive behaviour was 51.8%: 24% property damage, 37.6% verbal, 24.4% self-oriented and 24.4% physical aggression, and 9.8% sexually aggressive behaviour, most of which being mild in severity. Only 4.9% of individuals displayed aggressive behaviour leading to injury of the victim. Few gender differences were observed. Conclusions: The capacity to document and assess the types as well as the severity of aggressive behaviour is thus critical, not only to better understand the correlates of various types of behaviours but also to orient intervention programmes whether they be prevention, assessment, monitoring or management of aggressive behaviour.

The TIGRESS spectrometer is an array of escape suppressed, highly segmented, HPGe clover detectors, consisting of 896 channels, with around 1000 auxiliary detector channels available. The acquisition system is all digital, each detector signal is digitized and any filtering and subsequent processing is performed digitally. The system has been designed to integrate data flow, clock distribution, trigger, and acquisition control through the same serial links. A hierarchical trigger system is implemented, allowing various combinations of incoming trigger requests to be decided locally, or passed to any of the higher levels for final decision. Index Terms--Data acquisition, detectors, signal processing, triggering.