Trends in the availability and usage of electrophysical agents in physiotherapy practices from 1990 to 2010: A review

This is the Pre-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2012 Maney PublishingBackground: The use of electrophysical agents has a historically important role in physiotherapy practice. There are anecdotal reports that the availability and usage of electrotherapy modalities are declining, which may have implications for physiotherapy practice. The aim of this literature review was to provide scientific evidence on electrotherapy usage in the last 20 years by identifying trends in availability, use, and non-use of nine electrotherapeutic modalities in physiotherapy practices during 1990s and 2000s. Methods: Review of empirical studies published in the English language from 1990 to 2010 and identified through searching online bibliographic databases, which included: Medline/OvidSP, PubMed Central, CINAHL/EBSCOhost, ScienceDirect, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Findings: In the last 20 years, ultrasound availability and usage show increasing trends in several countries. The availability and use of pulsed shortwave diathermy and laser have shown steady trends. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, interferential, and biofeedback availability and usage have shown increasing trends in the UK and decreasing trends in Australia and the Republic of Ireland. Trends of continuous shortwave diathermy availability and use are declining irrespective of the country of the study. The availability and usage of microwave diathermy and H-wave show steeply declining trends, while there is a sharp rise in their non-availability over the last several years. Conclusions: The availability and use of electrophysical agents have greatly changed in the last 20 years. Declining trends in the availability and usage along with increasing trend of non-availability of electrotherapy modalities may have implications for electrotherapy education, training, and practice in the coming years.This study was funded by Health & Safety Executive, UK (grant no. 4371/R47.022)

Labrador retrievers under primary veterinary care in the UK: demography, mortality and disorders

Abstract Background Labrador retrievers are reportedly predisposed to many disorders but accurate prevalence information relating to the general population are lacking. This study aimed to describe demography, mortality and commonly recorded diseases in Labrador retrievers under UK veterinary care. Methods The VetCompass™ programme collects electronic patient record data on dogs attending UK primary-care veterinary practices. Demographic analysis covered all33,320 Labrador retrievers in the VetCompass™ database under veterinary care during 2013 while disorder and mortality data were extracted from a random sample of 2074 (6.2%) of these dogs. Results Of the Labrador retrievers with information available, 15,427 (46.4%) were female and 15,252 (53.6%) were male. Females were more likely to be neutered than males (59.7% versus 54.8%, P <  0.001). The overall mean adult bodyweight was 33.0 kg (SD 6.1). Adult males were heavier (35.2 kg, SD 5.9 kg) than adult females (30.4 kg, SD 5.2 kg) (P <  0.001). The median longevity of Labrador retrievers overall was 12.0 years (IQR 9.9–13.8, range 0.0–16.0). The most common recorded colours were black (44.6%), yellow (27.8%) and liver/chocolate (reported from hereon as chocolate) (23.8%). The median longevity of non-chocolate coloured dogs (n = 139, 12.1 years, IQR 10.2–13.9, range 0.0–16.0) was longer than for chocolate coloured animals (n = 34, 10.7 years, IQR 9.0–12.4, range 3.8–15.5) (P = 0.028). Of a random sample of 2074 (6.2%) Labrador retrievers under care in 2013 that had full disorder data extracted, 1277 (61.6%) had at least one disorder recorded. The total number of dogs who died at any date during the study was 176. The most prevalent disorders recorded were otitis externa (n = 215, prevalence 10.4%, 95% CI: 9.1–11.8), overweight/obesity (183, 8.8%, 95% CI: 7.6–10.1) and degenerative joint disease (115, 5.5%, 95% CI: 4.6–6.6). Overweight/obesity was not statistically significantly associated with neutering in females (8.3% of entire versus 12.5% of neutered, P = 0.065) but was associated with neutering in males (4.1% of entire versus 11.4% of neutered, P < 0.001). The prevalence of otitis externa in black dogs was 12.8%, in yellow dogs it was 17.0% but, in chocolate dogs, it rose to 23.4% (P < 0.001). Similarly, the prevalence of pyo-traumatic dermatitis in black dogs was 1.1%, in yellow dogs it was 1.6% but in chocolate dogs it rose to 4.0% (P = 0.011). Conclusions The current study assists prioritisation of health issues within Labrador retrievers. The most common disorders were overweight/obesity, otitis externa and degenerative joint disease. Males were significantly heavier females. These results can alert prospective owners to potential health issues and inform breed-specific wellness checks

Nondestructive 3D Imaging and Quantification of Hydrated Biofilm-Sediment Aggregates Using X-ray Microcomputed Tomography.

Biofilm-sediment aggregate (BSA) contains a high water content, either within internal pores and channels or bound by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) forming a highly hydrated biofilm matrix. Desiccation of BSAs alters the biofilm morphology and thus the physical characteristics of porous media, such as the binding matrix within BSA and internal pore geometry. Observing BSAs in their naturally hydrated form is essential but hampered due to the lack of techniques for imaging and discerning hydrated materials. Generally, imagery techniques (scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and focused ion beam nanotomography (FIB-nt)) involve the desiccation of BSAs (freeze-drying or acetone dehydration) or prevent differentiation between BSA components such as inorganic particles and pore water (confocal laser scanning microscopic (CLSM)). Here, we propose a novel methodology that simultaneously achieves the 3D visualization and quantification of BSAs and their components in their hydrated form at a submicron resolution using X-ray microcomputed tomography (μ-CT). It enables the high-resolution detection of comparable morphology of multiphase components within a hydrated aggregate: each single inorganic particle and the hydrated biofilm matrix. This allows the estimation of aggregate density and the illustration of biofilm-sediment binding matrix. This information provides valuable insights into investigations of the transport of BSAs and aggregate-associated sediment particles, contaminants (such as microplastics), organic carbon, and their impacts on aquatic biogeochemical cycling

A targeted proteomic multiplex CSF assay identifies increased malate dehydrogenase and other neurodegenerative biomarkers in individuals with Alzheimer's disease pathology

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Biomarkers are required to identify individuals in the preclinical phase, explain phenotypic diversity, measure progression and estimate prognosis. The development of assays to validate candidate biomarkers is costly and time-consuming. Targeted proteomics is an attractive means of quantifying novel proteins in cerebrospinal and other fluids, and has potential to help overcome this bottleneck in biomarker development. We used a previously validated multiplexed 10-min, targeted proteomic assay to assess 54 candidate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers in two independent cohorts comprising individuals with neurodegenerative dementias and healthy controls. Individuals were classified as 'AD' or 'non-AD' on the basis of their CSF T-tau and amyloid Aβ1-42 profile measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; biomarkers of interest were compared using univariate and multivariate analyses. In all, 35/31 individuals in Cohort 1 and 46/36 in Cohort 2 fulfilled criteria for AD/non-AD profile CSF, respectively. After adjustment for multiple comparisons, five proteins were elevated significantly in AD CSF compared with non-AD CSF in both cohorts: malate dehydrogenase; total APOE; chitinase-3-like protein 1 (YKL-40); osteopontin and cystatin C. In an independent multivariate orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), these proteins were also identified as major contributors to the separation between AD and non-AD in both cohorts. Independent of CSF Aβ1-42 and tau, a combination of these biomarkers differentiated AD and non-AD with an area under curve (AUC)=0.88. This targeted proteomic multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-based assay can simultaneously and rapidly measure multiple candidate CSF biomarkers. Applying this technique to AD we demonstrate differences in proteins involved in glucose metabolism and neuroinflammation that collectively have potential clinical diagnostic utility

Do cerebrospinal fluid transfer methods affect measured amyloid β42, total tau, and phosphorylated tau in clinical practice?

Introduction Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neurodegenerative markers are measured clinically to support a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Several preanalytical factors may alter the CSF concentrations of amyloid β 1–42 (Aβ1–42) in particular with the potential to influence diagnosis. We aimed to determine whether routine handling of samples alters measured biomarker concentration compared with that of prompt delivery to the laboratory. Methods Forty individuals with suspected neurodegenerative diseases underwent diagnostic lumbar punctures using a standardized technique. A sample of each patient's CSF was sent to the laboratory by four different delivery methods: (1) by courier at room temperature; (2) by courier, on ice; (3) using standard hospital portering; and (4) after quarantining for >24 hours. Aβ1–42, total tau (t‐tau), and phosphorylated tau (p‐tau) levels measured using standard enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay techniques were compared between transfer methods. Results There were no significant differences in Aβ1–42, t‐tau, or p‐tau concentrations measured in samples transported via the different delivery methods despite significant differences in time taken to deliver samples. Discussion When CSF is collected in appropriate tubes, transferred at room temperature, and processed within 24 hours, neurodegenerative markers can be reliably determined

Palaeomagnetic field intensity variations suggest Mesoproterozoic inner-core nucleation

The Earth’s inner core grows by the freezing of liquid iron at its surface. The point in history at which this process initiated marks a step-change in the thermal evolution of the planet. Recent computational and experimental studies1,2,3,4,5 have presented radically differing estimates of the thermal conductivity of the Earth’s core, resulting in estimates of the timing of inner-core nucleation ranging from less than half a billion to nearly two billion years ago. Recent inner-core nucleation (high thermal conductivity) requires high outer-core temperatures in the early Earth that complicate models of thermal evolution. The nucleation of the core leads to a different convective regime6 and potentially different magnetic field structures that produce an observable signal in the palaeomagnetic record and allow the date of inner-core nucleation to be estimated directly. Previous studies searching for this signature have been hampered by the paucity of palaeomagnetic intensity measurements, by the lack of an effective means of assessing their reliability, and by shorter-timescale geomagnetic variations. Here we examine results from an expanded Precambrian database of palaeomagnetic intensity measurements7 selected using a new set of reliability criteria8. Our analysis provides intensity-based support for the dominant dipolarity of the time-averaged Precambrian field, a crucial requirement for palaeomagnetic reconstructions of continents. We also present firm evidence for the existence of very long-term variations in geomagnetic strength. The most prominent and robust transition in the record is an increase in both average field strength and variability that is observed to occur between a billion and 1.5 billion years ago. This observation is most readily explained by the nucleation of the inner core occurring during this interval9; the timing would tend to favour a modest value of core thermal conductivity and supports a simple thermal evolution model for the Earth

Toward a Unified Genetic Map of Higher Plants, Transcending the Monocot-Dicot Divergence

Closely related (confamilial) genera often retain large chromosomal tracts in which gene order is colinear, punctuated by structural mutations such as inversions and translocations 1. To explore the possibility that conservation of gene order might extrapolate to more distantly related taxa, we first estimated an average structural mutation rate. Nine pairs of taxa, for which there exist both comparative genetic maps and plausible estimates of divergence time, showed an average of0.14 (±0.06) structural mutations per chromosome per million years of divergence (Myr; Table 1). This value is offered as a first approximation, acknowledging that refined comparative data and/or divergence estimates may impel revision