Perceived functional ability assessed with the spinal function sort: is it valid for European rehabilitation settings in patients with non-specific non-acute low back pain?

The aim of this study involving 170 patients suffering from non-specific low back pain was to test the validity of the spinal function sort (SFS) in a European rehabilitation setting. The SFS, a picture-based questionnaire, assesses perceived functional ability of work tasks involving the spine. All measurements were taken by a blinded research assistant; work status was assessed with questionnaires. Our study demonstrated a high internal consistency shown by a Cronbach's alpha of 0.98, reasonable evidence for unidimensionality, spearman correlations of >0.6 with work activities, and discriminating power for work status at 3 and 12 months by ROC curve analysis (area under curve = 0.760 (95% CI 0.689-0.822), respectively, 0.801 (95% CI 0.731-0.859). The standardised response mean within the two treatment groups was 0.18 and -0.31. As a result, we conclude that the perceived functional ability for work tasks can be validly assessed with the SFS in a European rehabilitation setting in patients with non-specific low back pain, and is predictive for future work status.

Watson-Crick base-pairing properties of tricyclo-DNA

Tricyclo-DNA belongs to the family of conformationally restricted oligodeoxynucleotide analogues. It differs structurally from DNA by an additional ethylene bridge between the centers C(3') and C(5') of the nucleosides, to which a cyclopropane unit is fused for further enhancement of structural rigidity. The synthesis of the hitherto unknown tricyclodeoxynucleosides containing the bases cytosine and guanine and of the corresponding phosphoramidite building blocks is described, as well as a structural description of a representative of an alpha- and a beta-tricyclodeoxynucleoside by X-ray analysis. Tricyclodeoxynucleoside building blocks of all four bases were used for the synthesis of fully modified mixed-base oligonucleotides. Their Watson-Crick pairing properties with complementary DNA, RNA, and with itself were investigated by UV melting curves, CD spectroscopy, and molecular modeling. Tricyclo-DNA was found to be a very stable Watson-Crick base-pairing system. A UV melting curve analysis of the decamers tcd(pcgtgacagtt) and tcd(paactgtcacg) showed increased thermal stabilities of up to DeltaT(m)/mod. = +1.2 degrees C with complementary DNA and +2.4 degrees C with complementary RNA. With itself, tricyclo-DNA showed an increase in stability of +3.1 degrees C/base pair relative to DNA. Investigations into the thermodynamic properties of these decamers revealed an entropic stabilization and an enthalpic destabilization for the tricyclo-DNA/DNA duplexes. CD spectroscopic structural investigations indicated that tricyclo-DNA containing duplexes preferrably exist in an A-conformation, a fact which is in agreement with results from molecular modeling