Reduction in headache patients' medical expenses associated with biofeedback and relaxation treatments

Comparisons are made of self-reported medical costs from a sample of headache patients who underwent various combinations of relaxation training and biofeedback training. The average costs for the 2 years prior to self-regulatory treatment were $955±480 (3 SEM) for 45 patients; for the 2 years after completing treatment the average costs were $52±28 (3 SEM) for patients. Within the limitations of the study, medical costs do seem to have been markedly reduced.This research was supported by a grant from NINCDS, NS-15235.     

Reduction in headache patients' medical expenses associated with biofeedback and relaxation treatments

Comparisons are made of self-reported medical costs from a sample of headache patients who underwent various combinations of relaxation training and biofeedback training. The average costs for the 2 years prior to self-regulatory treatment were $955 +/- 480 (3 SEM) for 45 patients; for the 2 years after completing treatment the average costs were $52 +/- 28 (3 SEM) for patients. Within the limitations of the study, medical costs do seem to have been markedly reduced.     

Land use improves spatial predictions of mountain plant abundance but not presence‐absence

Question: Does a land‐use variable improve spatial predictions of plant species presence‐absence and abundance models at the regional scale in a mountain landscape? Location: Western Swiss Alps. Methods: Presence‐absence generalized linear models (GLM) and abundance ordinal logistic regression models (LRM) were fitted to data on 78 mountain plant species, with topo‐climatic and/or land‐use variables available at a 25‐m resolution. The additional contribution of land use when added to topo‐climatic models was evaluated by: (1) assessing the changes in model fit and (2) predictive power, (3) partitioning the deviance respectively explained by the topo‐climatic variables and the land‐use variable through variation partitioning, and (5) comparing spatial projections. Results: Land use significantly improved the fit of presence‐absence models but not their predictive power. In contrast, land use significantly improved both the fit and predictive power of abundance models. Variation partitioning also showed that the individual contribution of land use to the deviance explained by presence‐absence models was, on average, weak for both GLM and LRM (3.7% and 4.5%, respectively), but changes in spatial projections could nevertheless be important for some species. Conclusions: In this mountain area and at our regional scale, land use is important for predicting abundance, but not presence‐absence. The importance of adding land‐use information depends on the species considered. Even without a marked effect on model fit and predictive performance, adding land use can affect spatial projections of both presence‐absence and abundance models.     

Dynamic aggregation of the mid-sized gadolinium complex {Ph4[Gd(DTTA)(H2O)2]− 3}

A compound binding three Gd³⁺ ions, {Ph₄[Gd(DTTA)(H₂O)₂]^? ₃} (where H₅DTTA is diethylenetriaminetetraacetic acid), has been synthesized around a hydrophobic center made up of four phenyl rings. In aqueous solution the molecules start to self-aggregate at concentrations well below 1 mM as shown by the increase of rotational correlation times and by the decrease of the translational self-diffusion constant. NMR spectra recorded in aqueous solution of the diamagnetic analogue {Ph₄[Y(DTTA)(H₂O)₂]^? ₃} show that the aggregation is dynamic and due to intermolecular π-stacking interactions between the hydrophobic aromatic centers. From estimations of effective radii, it can be concluded that the aggregates are composed of two to three monomers. The paramagnetic {Ph₄[Gd(DTTA)(H₂O)₂]^? ₃} exhibits concentration-dependent ¹H NMR relaxivities with high values of approximately 50 mM^?1 s^?1 (30 MHz, 25 °C) at gadolinium concentrations above 20 mM. A combined analysis of ¹H NMR dispersion profiles measured at different concentrations of the compound and ¹⁷O NMR data measured at various temperatures was performed using different theoretical approaches. The fitted parameters showed that the increase in relaxivity with increasing concentration of the compound is due to slower global rotational motion and an increase of the Lipari–Szabo order parameter S ².     

The relationship between 24-hour ambulatory blood pressures and laboratory measures of cardiovascular reactivity

The relationship between 24-hour ambulatory blood pressures (ABP) and blood pressures (BP) obtained during laboratory stressors was examined. Thirty normotensives (equal males and females) underwent ABP monitoring on three occasions separated by a week. They also underwent a laboratory assessment which included standard stressors (i.e., mental arithmetic, cold pressor, orthostatic response, treadmill exercise). Correlational analyses found laboratory pressures to be significantly correlated with ambulatory pressures, with laboratory baseline BPs showing higher correlations to the ambulatory BPs than the BPs obtained during laboratory stressors. In addition, gender effects were examined. In the correlational analyses between ABPs and laboratory BPs, males and females did not differ significantly in the strength of the correlations. In terms of absolute values, males were found to have significantly higher SBP during ambulatory monitoring, random-zero recordings, calibration readings, and during baselines of the laboratory assessment. There were no gender effects for these measures with respect to diastolic blood pressure or heart rate. There were also no gender effects on reactivity to laboratory stressors as measured by change scores. Exploratory analyses found no significant effect of history of familial hypertension on either the ABPs or the laboratory pressures.     

Microfabricated Modular Scale-Down Device for Regenerative Medicine Process Development

The capacity of milli and micro litre bioreactors to accelerate process development has been successfully demonstrated in traditional biotechnology. However, for regenerative medicine present smaller scale culture methods cannot cope with the wide range of processing variables that need to be evaluated. Existing microfabricated culture devices, which could test different culture variables with a minimum amount of resources (e.g. expensive culture medium), are typically not designed with process development in mind. We present a novel, autoclavable, and microfabricated scale-down device designed for regenerative medicine process development. The microfabricated device contains a re-sealable culture chamber that facilitates use of standard culture protocols, creating a link with traditional small-scale culture devices for validation and scale-up studies. Further, the modular design can easily accommodate investigation of different culture substrate/extra-cellular matrix combinations. Inactivated mouse embryonic fibroblasts (iMEF) and human embryonic stem cell (hESC) colonies were successfully seeded on gelatine-coated tissue culture polystyrene (TC-PS) using standard static seeding protocols. The microfluidic chip included in the device offers precise and accurate control over the culture medium flow rate and resulting shear stresses in the device. Cells were cultured for two days with media perfused at 300 µl.h⁻¹ resulting in a modelled shear stress of 1.1×10⁻⁴ Pa. Following perfusion, hESC colonies stained positively for different pluripotency markers and retained an undifferentiated morphology. An image processing algorithm was developed which permits quantification of co-cultured colony-forming cells from phase contrast microscope images. hESC colony sizes were quantified against the background of the feeder cells (iMEF) in less than 45 seconds for high-resolution images, which will permit real-time monitoring of culture progress in future experiments. The presented device is a first step to harness the advantages of microfluidics for regenerative medicine process development.     

25 hydroxy-vitamin D(3)-1alpha hydroxylase expression and activity in cultured human osteoblasts and their modulation by parathyroid hormone, estrogenic compounds and dihydrotestosterone

Human osteoblasts (hOB) produce and respond to 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) (1,25D), suggesting an autocrine/paracrine system. We therefore examined hormonal modulation of the expression and activity of 25 hydroxy-vitamin D(3)-1alpha hydroxylase (1-Ohase) in hOB. Cells from pre- and post-menopausal women or men, were treated with estrogenic compounds and 1-OHase expression and activity were measured. 1-OHase mRNA expression was highest in pre-menopausal women hOB and was increased by all hormones tested. In post-menopausal hOB all hormones except biochainin A (BA) and genistein (G) increased 1-OHase mRNA expressions to less extent. In male-derived hOB only dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and carboxy BA (cBA) increased 1-OHase mRNA expression. 1,25D production from 25(OH)D(3) had a K(m) of approximately 769-400 ng/ml (1.92-1.07 microM) and V(max) of 31.3-17.4 ng/ml (0.078-0.044 microM/60 min/5 x 10(6)cells) respectively, and was increased by all hormones except raloxifene (Ral) with higher stimulation in pre- than in post-menopausal cells. Only BA was almost five times more potent in pre- rather than post-menopausal hOBs. In male hOB only DHT and cBA increased 1,25D production whereas estradiol-17beta (E(2)) had no effect and BA decreased it. These results provide evidence for the expression of 1-OHase mRNA and production of 1,25D in hOBs, which are age and sex dependent and are hormonally modulated. The role of this local autocrine/paracrine 1,25D system in bone physiology deserves further investigation.     

Automated method for the rapid and precise estimation of adherent cell culture characteristics from phase contrast microscopy images

The quantitative determination of key adherent cell culture characteristics such as confluency, morphology, and cell density is necessary for the evaluation of experimental outcomes and to provide a suitable basis for the establishment of robust cell culture protocols. Automated processing of images acquired using phase contrast microscopy (PCM), an imaging modality widely used for the visual inspection of adherent cell cultures, could enable the non‐invasive determination of these characteristics. We present an image‐processing approach that accurately detects cellular objects in PCM images through a combination of local contrast thresholding and post hoc correction of halo artifacts. The method was thoroughly validated using a variety of cell lines, microscope models and imaging conditions, demonstrating consistently high segmentation performance in all cases and very short processing times (<1 s per 1,208 × 960 pixels image). Based on the high segmentation performance, it was possible to precisely determine culture confluency, cell density, and the morphology of cellular objects, demonstrating the wide applicability of our algorithm for typical microscopy image processing pipelines. Furthermore, PCM image segmentation was used to facilitate the interpretation and analysis of fluorescence microscopy data, enabling the determination of temporal and spatial expression patterns of a fluorescent reporter. We created a software toolbox (PHANTAST) that bundles all the algorithms and provides an easy to use graphical user interface. Source‐code for MATLAB and ImageJ is freely available under a permissive open‐source license. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2014;111: 504–517. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

What is an adequate length of baseline in research and clinical practice with chronic headache?

We examined the representativeness of baseline headache diary recording periods of 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks for three kinds of headache disorder — tension, migraine, and combined migraine and tension. For research purposes at pretreatment, 2 weeks of diary recording are preferable for tension headache, while at least 3 weeks are preferred for migraine and combined headache. At follow-up, 1 week of diary recording appears adequate for all three headache types. Recommendations are also made for clinical practice.This research was supported by grants from NINCDS, NS-23440, and NIMH, MH-41341.