To evaluate the effectiveness of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) on range of motion (ROM).
We performed a literature search of the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane ...Library databases from inception to December 23, 2023. Randomized controlled trials that compared treatment groups receiving IASTM to controls or IASTM plus another treatment(s) to other treatment(s) among healthy individuals with or without ROM deficits, or patients with musculoskeletal disorders were included. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias.
Nine trials including 450 participants were included in the quantitative analysis. The IASTM was effective in improving ROM in degree in healthy individuals with ROM deficits and patients with musculoskeletal disorders (n=4) (MD = 4.94, 95% CI: 3.29 to 6.60), and in healthy individuals without ROM deficits (n=4) (MD = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.30 to 3.34), but failed to improve ROM in centimeter in healthy individuals with ROM deficits (n=1) (MD = 0.39, 95% CI: -1.34 to 2.11, p=0.66, I
= 88%).
IASTM can improve ROM in degree in healthy individuals with or without ROM deficits, or in patients with musculoskeletal disorders (with very low to low certainty).
The PROSPERO registration ID is CRD42023425200.
The majority of broadly neutralizing antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) are against conformational epitopes on the E2 glycoprotein. Many of them recognize overlapping epitopes in a cluster, ...designated as antigenic domain B, that contains residues G530 and D535. To gain information on other regions that will be relevant for vaccine design, we employed yeast surface display of antibodies that bound to genotype 1a H77C E2 mutant proteins containing a substitution either at Y632A (to avoid selecting non-neutralizing antibodies) or D535A. A panel of nine human monoclonal antibodies (HMAbs) was isolated and designated as HC-84-related antibodies. Each HMAb neutralized cell culture infectious HCV (HCVcc) with genotypes 1-6 envelope proteins with varying profiles, and each inhibited E2 binding to the viral receptor CD81. Five of these antibodies neutralized representative genotypes 1-6 HCVcc. Epitope mapping identified a cluster of overlapping epitopes that included nine contact residues in two E2 regions encompassing aa418-446 and aa611-616. Effect on virus entry was measured using H77C HCV retroviral pseudoparticles, HCVpp, bearing an alanine substitution at each of the contact residues. Seven of ten mutant HCVpp showed over 90% reduction compared to wild-type HCVpp and two others showed approximately 80% reduction. Interestingly, four of these antibodies bound to a linear E2 synthetic peptide encompassing aa434-446. This region on E2 has been proposed to elicit non-neutralizing antibodies in humans that interfere with neutralizing antibodies directed at an adjacent E2 region from aa410-425. The isolation of four HC-84 HMAbs binding to the peptide, aa434-446, proves that some antibodies to this region are to highly conserved epitopes mediating broad virus neutralization. Indeed, when HCVcc were passaged in the presence of each of these antibodies, virus escape was not observed. Thus, the cluster of HC-84 epitopes, designated as antigenic domain D, is relevant for vaccine design for this highly diverse virus.
Levonorgestrel, a synthetic progesterone used as an oral contraceptive or emergency contraceptive pill, has been shown to be an endocrine-disrupting chemical. To assess the environmental risk of ...levonorgestrel, batch experiments and laboratory microcosm studies were conducted to investigate the adsorption and degradation of levonorgestrel in five contrasting soils of China. Freundlich and Langmuir models were applied to sorption data to examine the affinity of levonorgestrel for soils with varying physical and chemical properties. The Kf of levonorgestrel in the tested soils ranged from 10.79 to 60.92 mg1-n Ln kg-1 with N between 0.69 and 1.23, and the Qm ranged from 18.18 to 196.08 mg/kg. The multiple regression analysis was conducted between Kf and soil properties. Results indicate that total organic carbon plays a dominant role in the adsorption process. Gibbs free energy values less than 40 kJ/mol demonstrate that levonorgestrel sorption on soils could be considered as a physical adsorption. The degradation of levonorgestrel in five soils was fitted by the first-order reaction kinetics model. The half-lives of levonorgestrel were between 4.32 and 11.55 days. The initial concentration and sterilization experiments illustrated that the degradation rate of levonorgestrel in soil was concentration-dependent and microbially mediated. The low mobility potential of levonorgestrel in soils was predicted by the groundwater ubiquity score (GUS) and retardation factor (Rf).
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