Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation Questionnaire on lateral elbow tendinopathy for French-speaking patients.

STUDY DESIGN: Translation and validation of algo-functional questionnaire. INTRODUCTION: The lateral elbow tendinopathy is a common injury in tennis players and physical workers. The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) Questionnaire was specifically designed to measure pain and functional limitations in patients with lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow). First developed in English, this questionnaire has since been translated into several languages. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The aims of the study were to translate and cross-culturally adapt the PRTEE questionnaire into French and to evaluate the reliability and validity of this translated version of the questionnaire (PRTEE-F). METHODS: The PRTEE was translated and cross-culturally adapted into French according to international guidelines. To assess the reliability and validity of the PRTEE-F, 115 participants were asked twice to fill in the PRTEE-F, and once the Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire (DASH) and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Internal consistency (using Cronbach's alpha), test-retest reliability (using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement and minimal detectable change), and convergent and divergent validity (using the Spearman's correlation coefficients respectively with the DASH and with some subscales of the SF-36) were assessed. RESULTS: The PRTEE was translated into French without any problems. PRTEE-F showed a good test-retest reliability for the overall score (ICC 0.86) and for each item (ICC 0.8-0.96) and a high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.98). The correlation analyses revealed high correlation coefficients between PRTEE-F and DASH (convergent validity) and, as expected, a low or moderate correlation with the divergent subscales of the SF-36 (discriminant validity). There was no floor or ceiling effect. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The PRTEE questionnaire was successfully cross-culturally adapted into French. The PRTEE-F is reliable and valid for evaluating French-speaking patients with lateral elbow tendinopathy.

Rapid kinetic-based screening of human Fab fragments.

Human antibodies able to bind with high affinity and specificity to numerous targets have been successfully identified from Fab phage display libraries. A key step in the library selection screening process is the early characterization of library isolates in order to determine which of these isolates to pursue further. Here we describe a Biacore assay that allows isolated clones expressed as soluble Fab fragments in E. coli to be screened and ranked based on their affinity against the target. The assay takes advantage of our ability to measure Fab concentrations in crude bacterial extracts in Biacore using very high density Protein A chips. The procedure allows up to 100 clones per week to be screened and permits the identification of a small number of high-affinity Fabs from a large batch obtained following library selection or affinity maturation.

Identification, cloning, and expression of the Scytalidium acidophilum XYL1 gene encoding for an acidophilic xylanase.

We cloned XYL1, a Scytalidium acidophilum gene encoding for an acidophilic family 11 xylanase. The XYL1p protein was expressed in Pichia pastoris using the pPICZalphaA expression plasmid. The secreted protein was purified by TAXI affinity column chromatography. The purified XYL1p showed an optimum activity at pH 3.2 and 56 degrees C. The Michaelis-Menten constants were determined.

A quorum-sensing regulator controls expression of both the type IV secretion system and the flagellar apparatus of Brucella melitensis.

Both a type IV secretion system and a flagellum have been described in Brucella melitensis. These two multimolecular surface appendages share several features. Their expression in bacteriological medium is growth curve dependent, both are induced intracellularly and are required for full virulence in a mouse model of infection. Here we report the identification of VjbR, a quorum sensing-related transcriptional regulator. A vjbR mutant has a downregulated expression of both virB operon and flagellar genes either during vegetative growth or during intracellular infection. In a cellular model, the vacuoles containing the vjbR mutant or a virB mutant are decorated with the same markers at similar times post infection. The vjbR mutant is also strongly attenuated in a mouse model of infection. As C(12)-homoserine lactone pheromone is known to be involved in virB repression, we postulated that VjbR is mediating this effect. In agreement with this hypothesis, we observed that, as virB operon, flagellar genes are controlled by the pheromone. All together these data support a model in which VjbR acts as a major regulator of virulence factors in Brucella.