Jan Gielen

Staging and follow-up of rheumatoid arthritis of the knee. Comparison of sonography, thermography, and clinical assessment.

Twenty patients with longstanding polyarticular rheumatoid arthritis (including knee involvement) were selected for this study. The severity of the knee synovitis was assessed before and during treatment (with intra‐articular corticosteroid injections) using clinical scores, sonography, and thermography. In all patients, the inflammation regressed during treatment. During follow‐up, the quantity of synovial fluid, as measured sonographically 10 days after the start of therapy, correlated best with the clinical status. Maximal regression of synovial thickening was noted on delayed sonograms performed three months after treatment. Thermographic peak temperature showed good correlation with the clinical status, but the thermographic index was unreliable.

Imaging of soft tissue tumors

Diagnostic Modalities.- Ultrasound of Soft Tissue Tumors.- Color Doppler Ultrasound.- Plain Radiography, Angiography, and Computed Tomography.- Nuclear Medicine Imaging.- Magnetic Resonance Imaging.- Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging.- Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics of Soft Tissue Tumors and Bone Tumors.- Soft Tissue Tumours: the Surgical Pathologists Perspective.- Biopsy of Soft Tissue Tumors.- Staging, Grading, and Tissue Specific Diagnosis.- Staging.- Grading and Tissue-Specific Diagnosis.- General Imaging Strategy of Soft Tissue Tumors.- Imaging of Soft Tissue Tumors.- Tumors of Connective Tissue.- Fibrohistiocytic Tumors.- Lipomatous Tumors.- Tumors and Tumor-like Lesions of Blood Vessels.- Lymphatic Tumors.- Tumors of Muscular Origin.- Synovial Tumors.- Tumors of Peripheral Nerves.- Extraskeletal Cartilaginous and Osseous Tumors.- Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumors and Related Lesions.- Lesions of Uncertain Differentiation.- Pseudotumoral Lesions.- Soft Tissue Metastasis.- Soft Tissue Lymphoma.- Imaging of Soft Tissue Tumors in The Pediatric Patient.- Imaging After Treatment.- Follow-Up Imaging of Soft Tissue Tumors.

The Effect of Lifestyle Interventions on Excess Ectopic Fat Deposition Measured by Noninvasive Techniques in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUNDnReduction of ectopic fat accumulation plays an important role in the prevention of insulin resistance in people with overweight or obesity. This systematic review and meta-analysis summarizes the current evidence for the use of noninvasive weight loss interventions (exercise or diet) on ectopic fat.nnnMETHODSnA systematic literature search was performed according to the PRISMA statement. Clinical trials in PubMed, PEDro, and the Cochrane database were searched.nnnRESULTSnAll 33 included studies described the effect of lifestyle interventions on ectopic fat storage in internal organs (liver, heart, and pancreas) and intramyocellular lipids (IMCL), hereby including 1146, 157, 87, and 336 participants. Overall, a significant decrease of ectopic fat was found in liver (-0.53 Hedges g, P < .001), heart (-0.72 Hedges g, P < .001) and pancreas (-0.55 Hedges g, P = .098) respectively. A trend toward decrease in IMCL was also observed. Meta-regression indicated a dose-response relationship between BMI reduction and decreased hepatic adiposity. Exercise alone decreased ectopic fat but the effect was greater when combined with diet.nnnCONCLUSIONnLifestyle interventions can reduce ectopic fat accumulation in the internal organs of overweight and obese adults. The results on IMCL should be interpreted with care, keeping the athletes paradox in mind.

Ultrasound of Soft Tissue Tumors

This chapter illustrates how ultrasound is currently used in imaging soft tissue tumors and detail the advantages and drawbacks of this modality The use of ultrasound-guided aspiration or core biopsy is emphasized, and new applications that are being developed in the field of dermatology are described. The ultrasound appearance of the most common, benign soft tissue tumors reported is briefly discussed and documented.

The effect of diet or exercise on ectopic adiposity in children and adolescents with obesity: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Ectopic fat depostion in youth with obesity is associated with an increased cardiovascular disease risk. The aim of this meta‐analysis was to summarize the evidence for the use of diet and/or exercise on ectopic adiposity in this population.

Exploring the Biomedical Paradigm in the Work of Jan Fabre

Over the past thirty years Jan Fabre has produced a considerable body of work as a visual artist, theatre director and playwright. His work has been exhibited and performed throughout the world and he is well known as an innovative and versatile artist in the contemporary arts. Together with Anne Teresa De Keersmaker, Jan Decorte, Jan Lauwers, Wim Vandekeybus, Guy Cassiers and various others, he has been one of the creative minds behind the so-called ‘Flemish Wave’ in the performing arts: a generation of directors, choreographers, actors and dancers who, from the 1980s onward, has developed a highly individual artistic language on stage, breaking through the conventions of theatre and dance. In a special issue of Théâtre-Public devoted to the Flemish Wave, Christian Biet and Josette Féral describe them as ‘free and insolent’; ‘their practices operate against the current dominant forms of theatre, establishing performative styles that never cease to amaze us’ (Biet and Féral 2014). Typical for Fabre within this Flemish Wave is his search for a more direct and physical language on stage.1 Moreover, he tries to breach the boundaries between the different performing arts – theatre, dance, performance and opera. Fabre’s performers differ from ‘traditional monodisciplinary actors’ in that they combine dance, theatre, performance art, visual arts and music theatre during their performances (Van den Dries 2006). T H E P E R F O R M A T I V E I D I O M O F F A B R E F R O M A C T T O A C T I N G ... A N D B A C K

Do Performers' Experience and Sex Affect Their Performance.

This cross-sectional study aimed at developing a biomechanical method to objectify voluntary and unpredictable movements, using an automated three-dimensional motion capture system and surface electromyography. Fourteen experienced theater performers were tested while executing the old man exercise, wherein they have to walk like an old man, building up a sustained high intensive muscular activity and tremor. Less experienced performed showed a different kinematics of movement, a slower speed of progression and more variable EMG signals at higher intensity. Female performers also differed from males in movement kinematics and muscular activity. The number of the trial only influenced the speed of progression. The performers showed results which could be well placed within the stages of learning and the degrees of freedom problem.

Health-related costs in a sample of premenopausal non-diabetic overweight or obese females in Antwerp region: a cost-of-illness analysis

BackgroundPeople with overweight or obesity are at increased risk for disease later in life which cause important health costs.The aim of this study was to estimate the health status and the corresponding costs in a sample of females with overweight or obesity which were participating in a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) exploring the effect of lifestyle habits changes on ectopic adipose tissue.MethodsSixty-two non-diabetic premenopausal females without major comorbidities of overweight and obesity were recruited among patients visiting endocrinologists at the obesity clinic of the University Hospital of Antwerp and the University of Antwerp.A RCT-embedded cost-of-illness approach with societal perspective, based on self-reported questionnaires and cost diaries (3xa0months recall) was applied to estimate the prevalence of different comorbidities and the related direct and indirect costs in this sample of overweight or obese females. The European Quality-of-Life-5D questionnaire was used to define the health state and the corresponding utility index of the participants.ResultsThe average direct health costs and health utilities observed in this sample were comparable with the general Flemish female population. This may partially be explained by the strict inclusion criteria of the RCT (i.e. overweight or obesity without diabetes type 2 or cardiovascular diseases). However, 15% of the participants had five or more comorbidities resulting in higher average costs and lower average health utility as compared to the general population, only 3 participants were diagnozed with the metabolic syndrome. In this subsample productivity was low due to high average absenteeism, yielding important total costs for the society.ConclusionSecondary prevention to avoid health deterioration in overweight or obese females without major comorbidies is needed to contain health care costs.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02831621, approval of the ethics committee of the University Hospital of Antwerp (number: 14/17/205 -ref: 7543075363).

Ultrasound and Color Doppler Ultrasound of Soft Tissue Tumors and Tumorlike Lesions

Ultrasound (US) is an important imaging technique in the initial assessment of a soft tissue swelling. In the majority of cases, it will confirm whether the lesion is benign and obviate unnecessary further imaging work-up.

Unravelling Motor Learning Processes in Theater Performers

Theater performers, more than common actors, experience high physical loadings. This study aimed at analyzing the motor behavior of novice performers (dancers/actors who were introduced to the acting method of Jan Fabre) by investigating the kinematics of a physical acting exercise in a prospective study. Two measurement sessions were organized: before and after the novice performers (Nu2009=u200913) took part in seven workshops. Total body kinematics were registered using a three-dimensional motion capture system. Using a principal component analysis, six factors were disseminated out of 30 kinematic parameters: Pelvic Motion, Speed of Progression, Lower Limb Position, Foot Motion, Lower Limb Motion, and Trunk Posture. Although no main effect of training was found for any of the factors (.429u2009<u2009pu2009<u2009.964), Trunk Posture showed a higher consistency after the workshops. This study succeeded in providing insights in the motor behavior of theater performers and revealed recognizable features of motor learning.