Abstract Objective The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the effectiveness of exercise for the management of soft tissue injuries of the hip, thigh, and knee. Methods We conducted a ...systematic review and searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and CINAHL Plus with Full Text from January 1, 1990, to April 8, 2015, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cohort studies, and case-control studies evaluating the effect of exercise on pain intensity, self-rated recovery, functional recovery, health-related quality of life, psychological outcomes, and adverse events. Random pairs of independent reviewers screened titles and abstracts and assessed risk of bias using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network criteria. Best evidence synthesis methodology was used. Results We screened 9494 citations. Eight RCTs were critically appraised, and 3 had low risk of bias and were included in our synthesis. One RCT found statistically significant improvements in pain and function favoring clinic-based progressive combined exercises over a “wait and see” approach for patellofemoral pain syndrome. A second RCT suggests that supervised closed kinetic chain exercises may lead to greater symptom improvement than open chain exercises for patellofemoral pain syndrome. One RCT suggests that clinic-based group exercises may be more effective than multimodal physiotherapy in male athletes with persistent groin pain. Conclusion We found limited high-quality evidence to support the use of exercise for the management of soft tissue injuries of the lower extremity. The evidence suggests that clinic-based exercise programs may benefit patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome and persistent groin pain. Further high-quality research is needed.
Homologues of the SHARPIN (SHANK-associated RH domain-interacting protein) gene have been identified in the human, rat and mouse genomes. SHARPIN and its homologues are expressed in many tissues. ...SHARPIN protein forms homodimers and associates with SHANK in the post-synaptic density of excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain. SHARPIN is hypothesized to have roles in the crosslinking of SHANK proteins and in enteric nervous system function. We demonstrate that two independently arising spontaneous mutations in the mouse Sharpin gene, cpdm and cpdm(Dem), cause a chronic proliferative dermatitis phenotype, which is characterized histologically by severe inflammation, eosinophilic dermatitis and defects in secondary lymphoid organ development. These are the first examples of disease-causing mutations in the Sharpin gene and demonstrate the importance of SHARPIN protein in normal immune development and control of inflammation.
In a literature survey, Chernoff et al. (
2017
) dismissed the hypothesis that chronic exposure to β-
N
-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) may be a risk factor for progressive neurodegenerative disease. ...They question the growing scientific literature that suggests the following: (1) BMAA exposure causes ALS/PDC among the indigenous Chamorro people of Guam; (2) Guamanian ALS/PDC shares clinical and neuropathological features with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and ALS; (3) one possible mechanism for protein misfolds is misincorporation of BMAA into proteins as a substitute for L-serine; and (4) chronic exposure to BMAA through diet or environmental exposures to cyanobacterial blooms can cause neurodegenerative disease. We here identify multiple errors in their critique including the following: (1) their review selectively cites the published literature; (2) the authors reported favorably on HILIC methods of BMAA detection while the literature shows significant matrix effects and peak coelution in HILIC that may prevent detection and quantification of BMAA in cyanobacteria; (3) the authors build alternative arguments to the BMAA hypothesis, rather than explain the published literature which, to date, has been unable to refute the BMAA hypothesis; and (4) the authors erroneously attribute methods to incorrect studies, indicative of a failure to carefully consider all relevant publications. The lack of attention to BMAA research begins with the review’s title which incorrectly refers to BMAA as a “non-essential” amino acid. Research regarding chronic exposure to BMAA as a cause of human neurodegenerative diseases is emerging and requires additional resources, validation, and research. Here, we propose strategies for improvement in the execution and reporting of analytical methods and the need for additional and well-executed inter-lab comparisons for BMAA quantitation. We emphasize the need for optimization and validation of analytical methods to ensure that they are fit-for-purpose. Although there remain gaps in the literature, an increasingly large body of data from multiple independent labs using orthogonal methods provides increasing evidence that chronic exposure to BMAA may be a risk factor for neurological illness.
A rapid synchronization method is presented for an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) system using either a continuous transmission or a burst operation over a frequency-selective ...channel. The presence of a signal can be detected upon the receipt of just one training sequence of two symbols. The start of the frame and the beginning of the symbol can be found, and carrier frequency offsets of many subchannels spacings can be corrected. The algorithms operate near the Cramer-Rao lower bound for the variance of the frequency offset estimate, and the inherent averaging over many subcarriers allows acquisition at very low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs).
Abstract Lactose and food intolerance cause a wide range of gut and systemic symptoms, including gas, gut pain, diarrhoea or constipation, severe headaches, severe fatigue, loss of cognitive ...functions such as concentration, memory and reasoning, muscle and joint pain, heart palpitations, and a variety of allergies ( Matthews and Campbell, 2000; Matthews et al., 2005; Waud et al., 2008 ). These can be explained by the production of toxic metabolites from gut bacteria, as a result of anaerobic digestion of carbohydrates and other foods, not absorbed in the small intestine. These metabolites include alcohols, diols such as butan 2,3 diol, ketones, acids, and aldehydes such as methylglyoxal ( Campbell et al., 2005, 2009 ). These ‘toxins’ induce calcium signals in bacteria and affect their growth, thereby acting to modify the balance of microflora in the gut ( Campbell et al., 2004, 2007a,b ). These bacterial ‘toxins’ also affect signalling mechanisms in cells around the body, thereby explaining the wide range of symptoms in people with food intolerance. This new mechanism also explains the most common referral to gastroenterologists, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and the illness that afflicted Charles Darwin for 50 years ( Campbell and Matthews, 2005a,b ). We propose it will lead to a new understanding of the molecular mechanism of type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
Knowledge products comprise assessments of authoritative information supported by standards, governance, quality control, data, tools, and capacity building mechanisms. Considerable resources are ...dedicated to developing and maintaining knowledge products for biodiversity conservation, and they are widely used to inform policy and advise decision makers and practitioners. However, the financial cost of delivering this information is largely undocumented. We evaluated the costs and funding sources for developing and maintaining four global biodiversity and conservation knowledge products: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, Protected Planet, and the World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas. These are secondary data sets, built on primary data collected by extensive networks of expert contributors worldwide. We estimate that US$160 million (range: US$116-204 million), plus 293 person-years of volunteer time (range: 278-308 person-years) valued at US$ 14 million (range US$12-16 million), were invested in these four knowledge products between 1979 and 2013. More than half of this financing was provided through philanthropy, and nearly three-quarters was spent on personnel costs. The estimated annual cost of maintaining data and platforms for three of these knowledge products (excluding the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems for which annual costs were not possible to estimate for 2013) is US$6.5 million in total (range: US$6.2-6.7 million). We estimated that an additional US$114 million will be needed to reach pre-defined baselines of data coverage for all the four knowledge products, and that once achieved, annual maintenance costs will be approximately US$12 million. These costs are much lower than those to maintain many other, similarly important, global knowledge products. Ensuring that biodiversity and conservation knowledge products are sufficiently up to date, comprehensive and accurate is fundamental to inform decision-making for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Thus, the development and implementation of plans for sustainable long-term financing for them is critical.
Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) irreversibly inhibits platelet cyclooxygenase (COX)-1, the enzyme that converts arachidonic acid (AA) to the potent platelet agonist thromboxane (TX) A2. Despite clear ...benefit from aspirin in patients with cardiovascular disease (CAD), evidence of heterogeneity in the way individuals respond has given rise to the concept of 'aspirin resistance.'
To evaluate the hypothesis that incomplete suppression of platelet COX as a consequence of variation in the COX-1 gene may affect aspirin response and thus contribute to aspirin resistance.
Aspirin response, determined by serum TXB2 levels and AA-induced platelet aggregation, was prospectively studied in patients (n = 144) with stable CAD taking aspirin (75-300 mg). Patients were genotyped for five single nucleotide polymorphisms in COX-1 A-842G, C22T (R8W), G128A (Q41Q), C644A (G213G) and C714A (L237M). Haplotype frequencies and effect of haplotype on two platelet phenotypes were estimated by maximum likelihood. The four most common haplotypes were considered separately and less common haplotypes pooled.
COX-1 haplotype was significantly associated with aspirin response determined by AA-induced platelet aggregation (P = 0.004; 4 d.f.). Serum TXB2 generation was also related to genotype (P = 0.02; 4 d.f.).
Genetic variability in COX-1 appears to modulate both AA-induced platelet aggregation and thromboxane generation. Heterogeneity in the way patients respond to aspirin may in part reflect variation in COX-1 genotype.
The MiniBooNE detector Aguilar-Arevalo, A.A.; Anderson, C.E.; Bartoszek, L.M. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
02/2009, Letnik:
599, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The MiniBooNE neutrino detector was designed and built to look for
ν
μ
→
ν
e
oscillations in the
(
sin
2
2
θ
,
Δ
m
2
)
parameter space region where the LSND experiment reported a signal. The ...MiniBooNE experiment used a beam energy and baseline that were an order of magnitude larger than those of LSND so that the backgrounds and systematic errors would be completely different. This paper provides a detailed description of the design, function, and performance of the MiniBooNE detector.
This paper reviews the design challenges that current and future processors must face, with stringent power limits, high-frequency targets, and the continuing system integration trends. This paper ...then describes the architecture, circuit design, and physical implementation of a first-generation Cell processor and the design techniques used to overcome the above challenges. A Cell processor consists of a 64-bit Power Architecture processor coupled with multiple synergistic processors, a flexible IO interface, and a memory interface controller that supports multiple operating systems including Linux. This multi-core SoC, implemented in 90-nm SOI technology, achieved a high clock rate by maximizing custom circuit design while maintaining reasonable complexity through design modularity and reuse.
We study the properties of polycrystalline bulk yttrium iron garnet (YIG) pellets prepared by the solid-state method, where the choice of the sintering temperature can lead to mixed phases of yttrium ...iron perovskite (YIP) and YIG or single phase YIG. Magnetometry shows multiple switching regimes in the mixed-phase pellets where the saturation magnetization is dominated by the proportion of YIG present. Ferromagnetic resonance was used to corroborate the saturation magnetization from magnetometry and to extract the spin wave damping α. The lowest damping was observed for the YIG pellet, which resulted in a spin Seebeck effect (SSE) coefficient that was approximately 55% of single crystal YIG. This demonstrates that macroscale crystallization does not play a major role in the SSE and paves the way for utilising polycrystalline samples for thermomagnetic applications.
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