5 m × 0.5 m) indicated that

the average steady infiltration rate decreases with slope gradient in this region (Li et al., 1995). However, the loess soil is very susceptible to soil crust (Luk and Cai, 1990). The development of soil crust can significantly mTOR inhibitor decrease infiltration rates (Römkens et al., 1990a). Luk and Cai (1990) observed that multiple cycles of soil crust development and destruction occur in the rainfall processes. Zhang and Cai (1992) found that soil crustability of loess is varied with slope gradients. The rainfall intensity also affected surface crust development (Römkens et al., 1990b). In addition, rill development is very active on the sloping lands in this region and the threshold of rill formation is varied with slope gradients and rainfall intensity (Wang and Zhang, 1992). Infiltration between inter-rill and rill areas may be different due to the destruction of crusts in rill areas. The combined effect of the above individual factors on runoff generation was highly complicated MEK inhibitor cancer and difficult to separate. At slope angles of 5°, 10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, and 30°, the mean annual soil loss per unit area was 1633.5, 1941.1, 3278.5, 3896.3, 4663.8, and 6658.2 g/m2 on SSP, in comparison of 2320.3,

2109.2, 2752.4, 3417.4, 3238.1, and 5878.8 g/m2 on LSP. Soil loss per unit area increased with slope steepness in both SSP and LSP (Fig. 6b). Although LSP generated 36.4% less annual runoff per unit area than SSP, ranging from 25.7% at 15° to 46.7% at 30°, they produced an average of only 3.6% less annual soil loss per unit area than SSP. In addition to the difference in rainfall between the two periods, this may also imply that the runoff infiltration and detention on long slope was higher than that on short slope, and that the concentrated flows on long slope had greater flow velocities 5-Fluoracil manufacturer and thereby erosion power than runoff generating from short slope (Wischmeier, 1972 and Lal, 1982). The annual runoff and soil loss per unit area showed wide variations

among years of observation on both SSP and LSP (Supplementary Table 2). The coefficient of variation ranged from 0.59 to 0.73 in runoff and 0.56–1.18 in soil loss on SSP, in comparison of 0.91–1.26 in runoff and 0.67–1.83 in soil loss on LSP. This reflected the great variation in precipitation among years. As an extreme, there was no runoff and soil loss on LSP in 1965. The year had the lowest annual precipitation of 243.3 mm, among which 126.9 mm fell in the rainy season but none of it generated runoff. However, annual soil loss did not increase linearly with yearly precipitation either. The greatest yearly precipitation in 1964 did not produce the highest soil loss on LSP. The highest annual soil loss occurred on SSP in 2000. That year had a total of precipitation of 487.2 mm, which was even considerably below the mean annual precipitation of 522 mm over the7-year SSP monitoring period.

This understanding of validation is more appropriate for systems and models where it is unfeasible to compare the output of a risk model with observations or experiments. In this Section, the overall framework for the construction of the Bayesian network is introduced. First, some basic issues concerning Bayesian networks are briefly outlined, showing how BNs can accommodate the adopted risk perspective.

In mathematical terms, Bayesian networks (BNs) represent a class of probabilistic graphical models, defined as a pair Δ = G(X, A), P ( Koller and Friedman, 2009 and Pearl, 1988), where G(X, A) is the graphical component and P the probabilistic component of the model. G(X, A) is in the form of a directed

acyclic graph (DAG), where the nodes (X) represent the variables X = X1, …, Xn in the considered problem Trametinib cost and the arcs (A) represent the probabilistic conditional (in)dependence relationships between the variables. P consists of a set of conditional probability tables (CPTs) P(Xi|Pa(Xi)) for each variable Xi, i = 1, …, n in the problem. Pa(Xi) signifies the set of parents of Xi in G: Pa(Xi) = Y ∊ X. Thus: P = P(Xi. A Bayesian network encodes a factorization of the joint probability distribution (JDP) over all variables in X: equation(5) P(X)=∏i=1nP(Xi|Pa(Xi))From Eq. (5), it follows that BNs have desirable properties Pifithrin-�� molecular weight for describing uncertainty about oil spills in ship–ship collisions, conditional to impact scenarios.

In particular, when an assessor expresses his uncertainty about the impact scenarios using a set of parent nodes, this uncertainty can be propagated through the model to attain an expression of uncertainty about the possible oil spill sizes. To achieve a full assessment of uncertainty and bias in line with the risk perspective of Eq. (4), a qualitative description of Methisazone U and B supplements the BN. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the BN is constructed from an integration of two main elements: a submodel GI linking the damage extent to ship particulars and oil outflow and a submodel GII linking the impact scenarios to the damage extent. First, the resulting oil outflow for product tankers is determined from outflow calculations in a range of damage scenarios using a set of representative product tankers. For these tankers, limited data is available concerning cargo tank number and configuration. The more detailed tank arrangement needed for oil outflow calculations is estimated based on a model presented by Smailys and Česnauskis (2006). The data obtained from subsequent oil outflow calculations is applied in a Bayesian learning algorithm to construct the first submodel of the BN. This submodel GI(XI, AI) consists of nodes and arcs related to the ship particulars, damage extent and oil outflow. Its construction is elaborated in Section 4.

3A and B). The inactivation of PMR1 also delays the initial Cd2+ capture compared to WT cells. In this sense, pmr1Δ mutants have depletion of Ca2+ in secretory compartments, which stimulates the initial rate of Ca2+ influx through Cch1p/Mid1p, a cell membrane high affinity Ca2+-channel ( Locke et al., 2000 and Kellermayer et al., 2003). This phenomenon does not occur in WT cells; moreover, it is not related to increased expression of Cch1p/Mid1p neither with its relocation from internal compartments

to the cell surface ( Locke et al., 2000). Knowing that Cd2+ and Ca2+ can compete for this channel ( Gardarin et al., 2010), we hypothesized that the high-affinity of Cch1p/Mid1p by Ca2+ ions, as well some kind of intracellular Doxorubicin cell line signaling that improves this affinity, could favor the early uptake of Ca2+ instead of Cd2+. In this sense, it was demonstrated that Cch1p/Mid1p activity is influenced by proteins of intracellular signaling pathways as calcineurin and the MAP kinases Mpk1p and Bck1p ( Bonilla and Cunningham, 2003). With time, competition between

Ca2+ and Cd2+ should be reduced due to alteration in the proportional concentration of these cations and, in turn, Cd2+ uptake becomes more effective. A set of kinetic experiments are necessary to confirm this hypothesis. The amount of Cd2+ incorporated by the ycf1Δ strain does not vary greatly GW-572016 mw over time ( Fig. 2), possibly because the metal accumulates in the cytosol, forming Cd-[GS]2 complexes that has a feedback negative effect upon Cd2+ uptake ( Gomes et al., 2002), and because these complexes are not substrates for Pmr1p, which transports only why divalent metals ( Sorin et al., 1997 and Missiaen et al., 2007). In the expression analysis, we observed that YCF1 and PMC1 were the genes whose expression was more affected by Cd2+ ( Fig. 3A and H). Interestingly, PMC1 was activated earlier than YCF1, since it was the only gene up-regulated at 50 μM Cd2+ in the WT strain, and was even higher in ycf1Δ cells ( Fig. 3A–D). PMC1 encodes

a vacuolar Ca2+ transporter not essential for viability under normal growth conditions; however, it plays an essential role in yeast tolerance to high Ca2+ stress ( Cunningham and Fink, 1994 and Miseta et al., 1999). The ionic similarities between Ca2+ and Cd2+, and the prominent induction of PMC1 in response to Cd2+ in the ycf1Δ strain ( Fig. 3C and D), allow us to infer that Pmc1p can help yeast cells cope with Cd2+ toxicity, although we have not detected great sensitivity to Cd2+ in pmc1Δ cells (data not shown). In addition, strains lacking functional Ycf1p can also activate the PMR1 gene as an accessory pathway to remove Cd2+ from the cytosol ( Fig. 3C and D). A remarkable observation from this work was that deletion of the PMR1 gene can overcome the Cd2+ sensitivity produced by the absence of Ycf1p, as demonstrated by the pmr1Δycf1Δ cells ( Fig. 1).

Both the nascent

SVMPs and the processed DC domains have been isolated from viperoid venoms (Fox and Serrano, 2005 and Fox and Serrano, 2008). In the present work, we describe the isolation procedure and partial Epacadostat supplier characterization of a fibrinogenolytic metalloproteinase from B. moojeni venom, which belongs to the PIIIb subclass of SVMPs. Desiccated B. moojeni venom was purchased from Bioagents Serpentarium (Batatais-SP, Brazil). Acrylamide, ammonium bicarbonate, ammonium persulfate, benzamidine, bromophenol blue, ethylenediaminetetracetic acid (EDTA), bovine fibrinogen, β-mercaptoethanol, N,N′-methylene-bis-acrylamide, leupeptin, phenanthroline, phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride (PMSF), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediame (TEMED) were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO, USA). Glycine, Tris, molecular weight markers for electrophoresis and all chromatographic media were purchased from GE Healthcare (Sweden). All other reagents used were of analytical grade. Male Swiss mice (20 g ± 5 g) were obtained from Centro de Bioterismo e Experimentação Animal (CEBEA) at the Federal University of Uberlândia

(Uberlândia-MG, Brazil). The animals were housed in a temperature-controlled room (23 °C) on an automatic 12 h light/dark cycle (light phase 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Food and water see more were freely available until the beginning of the experiments. The experimental protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee on Animal Experimentation of the Federal University of Uberlândia (CEUA/UFU, Protocol number 028/09). Protein isolation was carried out in two stages. Crude B. moojeni venom (400 mg) was dispersed in 2.0 mL of 0.05 M ammonium bicarbonate buffer (pH 7.8), clarified by centrifugation at 10,000 × g for 10 min and applied on a DEAE-Sephacel column (1.5 × 15 cm). Chromatography was carried out at a flow rate of 40 mL/h, with a convex concentration gradient of the same buffer (0.05–0.6 M). The seventh fraction,

named D7, was pooled, lyophilized, dissolved in 2.0 mL of 0.05 M ammonium bicarbonate (pH 7.8) and submitted to second stage separation Demeclocycline using a HiPrep Sephacryl S-300 column (2.6 × 60 cm). Samples were eluted from this column with the same buffer at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. All peaks were monitored by measuring absorbance at 280 nm. The isolated enzyme was named moojenin. To evaluate the degree of purity, the isolated moojenin was passed through a reverse-phase C2/C18 column (4.6 × 100 mm) using an FPLC Äkta Purifier UPC-10 system (GE Healthcare, Uppsala, Sweden). The column was equilibrated with solvent A (0.1% trifluoroacetic acid), and eluted with a linear concentration gradient from 0 to 100% of solvent B (70% acetonitrile, 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid), at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min for 93 min. Absorbance was monitored at 280 nm.

The late Pliocene (after ∼ 3.5 Ma) was characterized by a distinct increase in the relative abundance of Uvigerina proboscidea (a well-known indicator of high surface water productivity; Gupta and Srinivasan, 1992, Rai and Srinivasan, 1994, Rai and Singh, 2001 and Rai et al., 2007, and others) and the significant Ipilimumab in vitro development of high food-exploiting faunal assemblages (i.e. the U. proboscidea and Bulimina aculeata assemblages), along with a decrease in faunal diversity and higher percentages of total

infaunal taxa. This was also a time of greater percentages of high-productivity taxa and suboxic taxa. The above faunal changes reflect the development of a strong upwelling-led high-productivity system at the beginning of the late Pliocene in the eastern Indian Ocean. Wells et al. (1994) also recorded identical benthic foraminiferal and isotopic signals in the eastern Indian Ocean during the penultimate glaciation and suggested an increase

in surface water productivity due to the establishment of a zone of upwelling. The final closure of the Indonesian seaway during ∼ 4–3 Ma changed the source of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) from the warm and saline south Pacific to the cooler and fresher north Pacific waters, which took a more westerly course. This, in turn, reduced the magnitude of the warm, southward-flowing Leeuwin Current and paved the way for the further northward flow of the cold Western Australian Current, which resulted in the marked shoaling of the thermocline in

the eastern Indian Ocean. It was probably Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Library molecular weight during this period that westerly equatorial winds also became stronger, which started to impinge on the west coast of Australia, and were accompanied by stronger tropical easterlies blowing off the Australian landmass ( Venkatarathnam & Biscaye 1977). These stronger offshore winds are thought to have been responsible for the intense offshore Ekman transport, causing potential upwelling of cold and Thymidine kinase nutrient-rich water and the development of higher surface water productivity at low latitudes off the west coast of Australia in the eastern Indian Ocean. Karas et al. (2009) also attributed the gradual freshening and related cooling (∼ 4 °C) of subsurface waters predominantly from ∼ 3.5 to 2.95 Ma to the gradual constriction of the Indonesian seaway and the related switch in the source of subsurface ITF waters from the warm and saline south Pacific to the cooler and fresher north Pacific. At the same time, Lisiecki & Raymo (2005) recorded globally low values of benthic δ18O with a small amplitude reflecting a low ice volume. The benthic Mg/Ca values do not suggest any distinct change in deep-sea temperatures either ( Billups & Schrag 2002). Karas et al. (2009) argued that the significant cooling of Indian Ocean subsurface waters was not a result of the global cooling that intensified the Northern Hemisphere glaciations.

The development of the algorithm was based on an assumption of small excitation angles, and it was shown that without the described split-and-reflect configuration, the pulses’ selectivity severely degrades when they are scaled to excite large tip-angles. This degradation was attributed to an increasing nonlinear phase variation in the αα profile that

grows with flip angle. Unfortunately, the degradation cannot be mitigated by explicit design of an αα filter with a zero phase response combined with use of the full inverse SLR transform rather than the small-excitation version used in the described algorithm, since PCI-32765 chemical structure as noted earlier it is impossible to design an FIR filter with the required αα magnitude response and zero phase response. Nor can the degradation be mitigated by adjusting the areas of the pre- and rewinding A(t)A(t) lobes: this approach could eliminate first-order phase variation check details in the αα profile in the slice, but would leave a phase roll across the αα and ββ profiles, and consequently nonzero αIαI and βIβI that would degrade the MxyMxy profile further. While the described split-and-reflect modification

to the pulses enables pulses designed by the algorithm to excite selective large-tip-angle profiles up to 180°, there will still be some loss in selectivity due to the bandwidth narrowing effect [26]. Attaining the most accurate large-tip excitations will require the development of a novel approach to inverting the ββ profile along a bipolar trajectory, subject Glutathione peroxidase to a zero-phase αα. Recent advances in multidimensional SLR pulse design may lead to the development of such a method in the future [27] and [28]. The design of |B1+|-selective refocusing pulses remains an open problem and will require a different problem formulation than that developed here. Previous reports of |B1+|-selective pulse design approaches [9] and [10] did not address the design of pulses

with tip angles greater than 90°. In addition to the pulse construction described here, Ref. [9] describes a ‘transposed sinc pulse’ configuration (Fig. 6 in Ref. [9]), which is equivalent to playing the first half the waveforms presented here with twice the ΔωRF(t)ΔωRF(t) amplitude. While the shorter duration of these pulses is attractive, compared to the full pulses their excitation profiles are degraded since the |B1+|-frequency trajectory visits only positive frequencies, leading to increased ββ amplitude in the stopband and corresponding undesired excitation. Inversion pulses constructed this way also exhibit substantially degraded and narrowed profiles. It is possible that future work will reveal an approach to design these pulses that can accurately account for or mitigate these effects. There remain multiple questions to be answered regarding the use and performance of |B1+|-selective pulses, which have not been previously addressed and are beyond the scope of the present work.

Feeding a child using a bottle with a teat is highly discouraged because it endangers the baby’s health and survival through contamination and interference with breastfeeding establishment [12]. Despite improvements in breastfeeding at the national level in developing countries, there are fears of decline in certain sociodemographic segments, especially among mothers in urban areas and of higher socioeconomic status [13] and [14]. It is also evident that breastfeeding practices PLX-4720 in vitro in sub-Saharan Africa vary from country to country, and within countries [14] and [15]. Numerous cross-sectional studies have been

undertaken on breastfeeding practices in Kenya [16], [17] and [18], but long-term trends are not yet documented. To fill this gap, an aim of this study was to examine trends in early initiation of breastfeeding at 0 to 23 months of age, exclusive breastfeeding at 0 to 5 months of age, complementary feeding and breastfeeding at 6 to 23 months of age, and bottle-feeding at 0 to 23 months of age, using measures and definitions AZD9291 recommended by WHO [19]. To provide details at the levels of subgroups and subnational areas, the trends estimations were disaggregated by child’s sex, child’s age, province, residence, maternal education, household wealth, maternal literacy, and media exposure.

A second aim was to examine multivariate relationships between sociodemographic factors and feeding practices with data from 2008 to 2009, the most recent available data. The health promotion conceptual model guiding this analysis is UNICEF’s social-ecological model of child care, as further specified by Engle et al [20]. Child feeding practices are in focus in this analysis,

as well as a critical part of a cluster of mother/child dyad care behaviors, including care for mother, child psychological and social stimulation, home hygiene practices, home health care practices, and food preparation and storage practices. To facilitate a manageable analysis, only the feeding practices “early initiation of breastfeeding,” “exclusive breastfeeding the first 6 months,” “complementary feeding and breastfeeding at 6 to 23 months,” and “bottle feeding Phosphoprotein phosphatase at 0 to 23 months” are included as endpoints. The relationships of these 4 feeding practices were examined with respect to 2 clusters of independent variables that are specified in the UNICEF model: resources for care (eg, maternal education) and contextual factors (eg, urban-rural setting). By specifying and focusing on resources for care, the analysis was guided by an unequivocal health promotion perspective, contra a disease promotion perspective, in which risk factors have a more prominent place than do protective factors. The study used data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), which is publicly available [21].

This effectively means that the likelihood of an extreme high sea-level rise (the upper tail of the distribution function of the sea-level rise uncertainty) is poorly known. The allowance depends Selleckchem Lapatinib on the Gumbel distribution, which only describes extreme events. Eq. (5) therefore only applies to the range of z  P that encompasses the high sea-level extremes. The allowance is therefore valid in cases where the uncertainty distribution of sea-level rise, P(z′)P(z′), spans only the portion of N((μ−zP+Δz+z′−a)/λ)N((μ−zP+Δz+z′−a)/λ) (Eq. (3)) that fits a Gumbel distribution. This is generally

satisfied if P(z′)P(z′) has thin tails (e.g. it is normal or raised-cosine). For the A1FI emission scenario and the period 1990–2100, the 5- to 95-percentile range spans 0.54 m, which is typically five times the scale parameter, λλ, a range which the Gumbel distribution will generally cover satisfactorily. However, if P(z′)P(z′) had a fat upper tail, the distributions used here (normal and raised-cosine)

would underestimate the allowance by not including the contribution from the tail in the integral in Eq. (3). This problem may be examined Selleckchem Romidepsin in terms of both likelihood  , NN, and risk  . In general, risk may be treated in the same way as likelihood, so that the analogue of Eq. (2) is equation(7) R=Rμ−zPλand the analogue of Eq. (3) is equation(8) Rov=∫−∞∞P(z′)Rμ−zP+Δz+z′−aλdz′where R   is the risk and RR is some general dimensionless function. If the consequence of each flooding medroxyprogesterone event is a constant, c  , then R=cNR=cN and Rov=cNovRov=cNov. In this case, any allowance that preserves the overall likelihood  , NovNov, also preserves the overall risk  , RovRov. There is one situation where fat-tailed P(z′)P(z′)may not significantly influence the overall likelihood, and another where it may not significantly influence the overall risk. Firstly, N((μ−zp+Δz+z′−a)/λ)N((μ−zp+Δz+z′−a)/λ) may be less than the value given by a Gumbel distribution at large values of (μ−zp+Δz+z′−a)/λ(μ−zp+Δz+z′−a)/λ,

thereby reducing the effect of a fat upper tail in P(z′)P(z′) on the overall likelihood, NovNov (Eq. (3)). A trivial (and extreme) example of this is where the fat upper tail spans the range in which the asset lies between mean sea level and the minimum high water level (e.g. mean high water neaps). Within this range, NN is approximately constant at about one or two flooding events per day (for diurnal and semidiurnal tides, respectively); i.e. in this range the flooding likelihood, NN does not increase with z′z′, and the contribution of the fat upper tail to the overall likelihood NovNov may be small or negligible. Secondly, even if the overall likelihood, NovNov, increases significantly due to a fat upper tail in P(z′)P(z′), it is quite possible that the consequence of each flooding event decreases under these conditions, so that the overall risk  , RovRov, is not dominated by the fat tail.

7 More recently, the findings of a bioassay showed that the ZOL concentrations found in the oral

cavity of patients under treatment with this drug ranged from 0.4 to 5 μM.17 Thereafter, some authors have demonstrated that this drug can be toxic to different cell types, such as osteoblasts, endothelial cells and fibroblasts.10, 11 and 16 This cytotoxic effect could be due to contact of high concentrations of bisphosphonates released from the mineralized tissues to the adjacent cells. A recent study5 evaluating the cytotoxicity of ZOL to pulp cells in vitro showed that this drug caused a significant decrease of the viability, proliferation Erastin datasheet and TP production of these cells. These data were confirmed in the present study in which ZOL

concentrations (1 μM and 5 μM) simulating those found in the alveolar bone tissue of patients under treatment with this drug, 17 caused reduction of cell viability. In addition to HIF inhibitor the analysis of odontoblast-like cell viability, TP production and ALP activity, molecular biology experiments were also carried out in the present study, which indicated that Col-I and ALP expression can be inhibited in a dose-dependent by the action of ZOL. This inhibitory effect of ZOL could affect negatively the repair of the pulpo-dentin complex in vivo, as Col-I is the main component of reactionary dentin matrix, which is produced by odontoblasts not that suffer aggressions 12 and 27 and ALP is directly involved in the mineralization of this newly formed dentin matrix. 28 and 29 The present study demonstrated that ZOL at concentration of 1 μM increase Col-I expression. Similar result was also reported in previous studies that revealed an increase in the expression of this gene in vitro within the first days after contact of the drug with the cells. 30 and 31 However, Col-I expression decreased over time,

suggesting that the inhibitory effect of ZOL was both dose- and time-dependent. 31 The results of ZOL cytotoxicity to the odontoblast-like MDPC-23 cells demonstrated by the in vitro cellular and molecular biology protocols used in the present study were confirmed in the analysis of cell morphology by SEM. The cells incubated in contact with both ZOL concentrations presented size reduction, probably due to cytoskeletal shrinkage. This cell response pattern in contact with low toxic agents has been extensively described in the literature, 19 and 21 which helps establishing the effects of the tested drug. This is because the decrease of cell viability indicated by the MTT assay might be due to a direct inhibitory effect of the drug on cell activity, which results in reversible morphological alterations, or to necrotic or apoptotic cell death, which represents an irreversible condition. In both situations, the MTT assay provides values that represent a smaller number of formazan crystals formed.

1 Psychosocial factors

such as fear of movement, self-efficacy beliefs, poor recovery expectation, pain catastrophizing, passive coping, and depression predict poor recovery.2, 4, 6 and 7 Studying the prognosis of whiplash is complicated, and the validity of previous studies has been limited by small sample size, inclusion of patients >6 months after injury onset, short follow-up periods mTOR inhibitor (<6mo), loss to follow-up, unblinded outcome assessors, and lack of statistical adjustment for important covariates.8 Because of a weak association between self-reported and objectively measured function in patients with chronic pain,9 the use of both self-reported and objectively measured data for a comprehensive assessment of (work-related) illness status is recommended.10 Functional capacity evaluation (FCE) consists of batteries of standardized tests to evaluate an injured worker's functional capacity and ability to perform work-related activities.11 When FCE results indicate that a worker's functional capacity is less than the job's physical demands, a rehabilitation program can be proposed to improve the ability to return to work (RTW).12 and 13 FCEs are also used to guide case closure.14 and 15 However, the prognostic ability of FCE for RTW is not known for patients with WADs. As such, this study aimed (1) to determine the predictive ability of FCE tests to determine

future work capacity Dabrafenib mouse (WC); and (2) to develop a predictive model for WC in a cohort (-)-p-Bromotetramisole Oxalate of patients with WADs grades I and II who did not regain full WC 6 to 12 weeks after injury. Our hypotheses were that FCE tests independently predict WC in the short-term and that the predictive ability of FCE tests decreases over time. A prospective cohort design was used for this study. Participants were recruited from the German-speaking part of Switzerland. They all were insured by the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA). SUVA is the largest state-owned accident insurance fund in Switzerland and covers occupational and nonoccupational injuries

for employed individuals, mainly in labor industries, and unemployed job-seeking persons.16 Injured persons receive compensation up to a maximum of 80% of their previous salary, and medical and vocational assistance. If health status is stabilized but disabilities remain, long-term invalidity pensions are refunded by SUVA and the invalidity insurance. Between January 2011 and January 2012, insurance physicians or case managers of SUVA referred eligible participants for an interdisciplinary rehabilitation assessment at the rehabilitation clinic in Bellikon (Switzerland). The main reasons for referral included (1) not regaining full WC within 6 to 12 weeks after a whiplash injury; (2) exceeding expected healing times; (3) or having plateaued with the provided medical and rehabilitative care.