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This systematic review assessed the effectiveness of the Common Sense Self-Regulatory Model in the design of interventions to improve adherence behaviours. Of nine eligible studies, six reported improvements in adherence behaviours and three showed moderate to large effects on return to work and lifestyle recommendations. Four studies stated how Common Sense Self-Regulatory Model constructs were addressed in the intervention and five measured illness perceptions as outcomes. Evidence was found for targeting cure/control perceptions in studies aimed at improving adherence behaviours. Future studies need to measure illness perceptions pre- and post-intervention to enable mediational analyses to assess the effect of Common Sense Self-Regulatory Model interventions on improving health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stem cell therapy has showed considerable potential in the treatment of stroke over the last decade. In order that these therapies may be optimized, the relative benefits of growth factor release, immunomodulation, and direct tissue replacement by therapeutic stem cells are widely under investigation. Fundamental to the progress of this research are effective imaging techniques that enable cell tracking in vivo. Direct analysis of the benefit of cell therapy includes the study of cell migration, localization, division and/or differentiation, and survival. This review explores the various imaging tools currently used in clinics and laboratories, addressing image resolution, long-term cell monitoring, imaging agents/isotopes, as well as safety and costs associated with each technique. Finally, burgeoning tracking techniques are discussed, with emphasis on multimodal imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explored the experiences of rural school counselors broaching conversations on race with students. We used a critical research framework with a phenomenological approach to understand the experiences of nine rural school counselors. Our findings relate to the factors that impacted school counselors' broaching behaviors with students. We discuss strategies for how rural school counselors might effectively broach conversations on race within their schools and address implications for school counseling practice and counselor education practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the formal role of universities in stimulating regional economic development is relatively recent. However, the role of universities in contributing to regional technological and service variety is underresearched. In this study, we use a data set that has wide geographic coverage. The analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of the UK-wide contribution of university spin-offs (USOs) to the innovation capacity of their host regional economies. We argue that the survival and growth of USOs imply embeddedness in innovation ecosystems in a region. The findings show that the majority of firms in the sample are relatively young, small in size, and are still at the early stages of their life cycle. Hence, the products and services that are offered are fairly small in number. Nevertheless, their products/services based on university research have the potential for value capture by other firms thus implying contributions to a range of related and unrelated industry sectors within a region or beyond the local. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports a study which was conducted to determine whether high knee abduction moment (pKAM) is associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in female athletes. A clinic-based algorithm developed by Myer and colleagues was used in the study. The results show that the pKAM was not associated with noncontact ACL injury in injured athletes.

This paper examines the relationship between formal networks, such as business and occupationally based professional networks, and place in determining network patterns and types in regional economic development. It distinguishes between 'network-rich' and 'network-poor' regions and considers why and how formal networks operate as a service and a resource to participants and as components of regional business infrastructures. Formal networks in the Oxfordshire to Cambridge Arc in the UK are used to illustrate these points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are immediately disabling, costly, take a significant amount of time to rehabilitate, and are associated with an increased risk of developing posttraumatic osteoarthritis of the knee. Specific multiplanar movement patterns of the lower extremity, such as those associated with the drop vertical jump (DVJ) test, have been shown to be associated with an increased risk of suffering noncontact ACL injuries. The Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) has been developed as a tool that can be applied to identify individuals who display at-risk movement patterns during the DVJ.Hypothesis: An increase in LESS score is associated with an increased risk of noncontact ACL injury.Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods: Over a 3-year interval, 5047 high school and college participants performed preseason DVJ tests that were recorded using commercial video cameras. All participants were followed for ACL injury during their sports season, and video data from injured participants and matched controls were then assessed with the LESS. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between LESS score and ACL injury risk in all participants as well as subgroups of female, male, high school, and college participants.Results: There was no relationship between the risk of suffering ACL injury and LESS score whether measured as a continuous or a categorical variable. This was the case for all participants combined (odds ratio, 1.04 per unit increase in LESS score; 95% confidence interval, 0.80-1.35) as well as within each subgroup (odds ratio range, 0.99-1.14).Conclusion: The LESS did not predict ACL injury in our cohort of high school and college athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores the perspectives of two user groups, general practitioners (GPs) and consultant radiologists (CRs), on the rollout of picture archiving and communications systems (PACS) within acute trusts and eventually to primary care as part of the electronic patient record. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 16 CRs and 31 GPs. Analysis was carried out using a grounded theory approach. Radiologists expressed positive views about the implementation of PACS in secondary care, but were wary of GPs accessing radiological images. GPs expressed concerns about the added burdens that PACS might bring to primary care, but most felt that sharing images with patients could benefit doctor-patient communication and increase patient satisfaction. This study highlights both impediments and pathways to the implementation of PACS in primary care, and illustrates the importance of regarding PACS as socially embedded and users as culturally disparate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are reports in the literature describing artefactually raised phosphate concentrations in serum samples of patients with myeloma. However, IgA paraproteins have been reported only rarely as a potential cause. Methods: Following the detection of a grossly elevated phosphate concentration in a patient with an IgA paraprotein and another with an IgG paraprotein, we estimated phosphate concentrations in a further 73 patients with paraproteins using the Bayer ADVIA 1650 and Ortho Vitros 950 analysers. The latter method has been reported to be unaffected by pseudohyperphosphataemia. Results: Deproteinization of the serum samples containing the IgA and IgG paraproteins showed that they were responsible for the interference. No significant difference in serum phosphate concentrations measured by the two analysers was noted for the larger study of serum IgG or IgM paraproteins. However, a statistically significant but clinically trivial difference in phosphate concentration was noted for serum IgA paraproteins, with the Ortho Vitros 950 giving slightly higher phosphate concentrations. Deproteinization of these samples yielded similar phosphate concentrations. Phosphate estimation in serum samples without paraproteins using both analysers yielded results that were not statistically different. Conclusion: On occasion, serum samples containing IgA paraproteins may give rise to erroneous phosphate concentrations when the Bayer ADVIA is used [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented about a man who developed diabetic ketoacidosis after using clozapine.

To be competitive Indian pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies pursue both imitative and innovation-based strategies. Some undertake contractual clinical research from multinationals now that product patents have replaced process patenting. The barriers for innovation are the lack of funds and regulations. Government funding bodies have to reconcile the goals: science for society versus science for profit. The regulatory process (e.g., time taken for drug approvals) is in need of change. In recent years the industry has become more regionalized— states are proactive in promoting bioscience complexes through parks and institutes (e.g., Bangalore and Hyderabad). This has implications for clustered economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multivariate analysis that identifies the combination of risk factors associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) trauma is important because it provides insight into whether a variable has a direct causal effect on risk or an indirect effect that is mediated by other variables. It can also reveal risk factors that might not be evident in univariate analyses; if a variable’s effect is moderated by other variables, its association with risk may be apparent only after adjustment for the other variables. Most important, multivariate analyses can identify combinations of risk factors that are more predictive of risk than individual risk factors. Hypothesis: A diverse combination of risk factors predispose athletes to first-time noncontact ACL injury, and these relationships are different for male and female athletes. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Athletes competing in organized sports at the high school and college levels participated in this study. Data from injured subjects (109 suffering an ACL injury) and matched controls (227 subjects) from the same athletic team were analyzed with multivariate conditional logistic regression to examine the effects of combinations of variables (demographic characteristics, joint laxity, lower extremity alignment, strength, and personality traits) on the risk of suffering their first ACL injury and to construct risk models. Results: For male athletes, increases in anterior-posterior displacement of the tibia relative to the femur (knee laxity), posterior knee stiffness, navicular drop, and a decrease in standing quadriceps angle were jointly predictive of suffering an ACL injury. For female athletes the combined effects of having a parent who had suffered an ACL injury and increases in anterior-posterior knee laxity and body mass index were predictive of ACL injury. Conclusion: Multivariate models provided more information about ACL injury risk than individual risk factors. Both male and female risk models included increased anterior-posterior knee laxity as a predictor of ACL injury but were otherwise dissimilar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research which investigated how competition level, type of sport, and athlete's sex influence first-time noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury incidence. Topics addressed include the prevalence of ACL injuries in young athletes in the U.S., the use of National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System database as reference in assessing injury incidence rates, and the injury rate associated with soccer, basketball, and lacrosse.

The article discusses research which investigated femoral intercondylar notch morphometry in patients with first-time noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Topics explored include the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of participating ACL-injured patients, the outcome of the femoral notch measurement process, and the comparative analysis of femoral notch morphometry and ACL geometry.

The article discusses a study on 176 athletes that determined the association of higher posterior-inferior medial and lateral tibial plateau directed slope with higher risks for noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Obtained were magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of subjects and the characterization of subchondral bone part in tibial plateau, coronal tibial slope and medial tibial plateau depth. Results showed 21.7% higher risk in females of noncontact ACL injury than in males.

Objectives: The perceptions of bereaved family members were obtained to evaluate the nature and quality of end-of-life care in community hospitals. Design: During organizational case studies in six community hospitals in the South East and South West of England, bereaved family members were asked to participate in semi-structured interviews. Participants: Fifty-one interviews were conducted with family members of patients who had received end-of-life care in a community hospital within the previous year. Results: Respondents were very positive about the care they and the patient had received. They valued the convenience of access for frequent and long-stay visiting and the familiarity of the local hospital. Comparisons were made with more negative experiences at their nearest District General Hospital. Issues raised included the noise at the community hospitals, and the lack of contact with qualified nurses. Discussion: The results of this study have implications for UK government initiatives, such as the National Framework for Older People, and the Department of Health's 'Keeping the NHS Local'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article “Application of a clinic-based algorithm as a tool to identify female athletes at risk for anterior cruciate ligament injury: a prospective cohort study with a nested, matched case-control analysis” by John Goetschius and colleagues in September 2012 issue; further, response from the authors of the article is also presented.