Opposite effect of acute and subchronic treatments with Ferula hermonis on copulatory behavior of male rats

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effectiveness of aquatic therapy in post-surgery rehabilitation of the rotator cuff

Introduction: rotator cuff injuries very often require surgical repair and subsequent rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a traditional and an aquatic post-surgery rehabilitation program of the rotator cuff in 20 adult (60±5y) patients. Methods:patients were randomly assigned to a traditional (TR; n=10) and to an aquatic (WR; n=10) rehabilitation group. Both programs started 15 days after the surgery, lasted 3 months (3 times-a-week), and consisted in passive mobilization followed by strengthening exercises. The only WR group underwent to an adjunctive aquatic mobilization program. Before (pre-intervention) and after (post-intervention) the programs, patients underwent the following assessments: shoulder range of motion (ROM), in both flexion and extra rotation positions; pain perception (visual analogue scale); simple shoulder test. Results: pre vs. post-intervention results were compared in each group by means of a dependent-samples t-Test on each variables. An independent-samples t-Test was used to analyze pre-intervention differences between TR and WR groups; since no significant differences were found, the same test was used to analyze post-intervention differences. Pre- vs post-intervention results showed significant improvements in all variables in both groups (p 0,005) Discussion: although the water-based program did not result more effective than the traditional program at the end of the three months, the aquatic rehabilitation seemed to improve shoulder ROM faster than the traditional one and to be better tolerated by the patients. It’s authors’ opinion that both evidences may increase the adherence to the program during the rest of the rehabilitation programUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Biosurfactants produced by Bacillus subtilis A1 and Pseudomonas stutzeri NA3 reduce longevity and fecundity of Anopheles stephensi and show high toxicity against young instars

Anopheles stephensi acts as vector of Plasmodium parasites, which are responsible for malaria in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. Currently, malaria management is a big challenge due to the presence of insecticide-resistant strains as well as to the development of Plasmodium species highly resistant to major antimalarial drugs. Therefore, the present study focused on biosurfactant produced by two bacteria Bacillus subtilis A1 and Pseudomonas stutzeri NA3, evaluating them for insecticidal applications against malaria mosquitoes. The produced biosurfactants were characterized using FT-IR spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), which confirmed that biosurfactants had a lipopeptidic nature. Both biosurfactants were tested against larvae and pupae of A. stephensi. LC50 values were 3.58 (larva I), 4.92 (II), 5.73 (III), 7.10 (IV), and 7.99 (pupae) and 2.61 (I), 3.68 (II), 4.48 (III), 5.55 (IV), and 6.99 (pupa) for biosurfactants produced by B. subtilis A1 and P. stutzeri NA3, respectively. Treatments with bacterial surfactants led to various physiological changes including longer pupal duration, shorter adult oviposition period, and reduced longevity and fecundity. To the best of our knowledge, there are really limited reports on the mosquitocidal and physiological effects due to biosurfactant produced by bacterial strains. Overall, the toxic activity of these biosurfactant on all young instars of A. stephensi, as well as their major impact on adult longevity and fecundity, allows their further consideration for the development of insecticides in the fight against malaria mosquitoes

Physiological responses to pedaling on a water stationary bike at different immersion heights

Only a few studies[1-4] have investigated oxygen consumption (V’O2) and heart rate (HR) responses to pedaling on a stationary bike in water (WSB), while literature is still lacking on the effects elicited by variations in immersion depth. 14 subjects (8 M, 6 F, age 30±6y, weight 67±14kg, BMI 22.8±2.3kg/m2, fat mass 21,4±3%) performed 2 testing sessions and 2 exercise sessions: i) dry-land incremental exercise test (cycle-ergometer) to age-predicted maximum HR (HR); ii) underwater (hip-height) incremental exercise test (on a WSB) to exhaustion; iii/iv) two 2-stage (18-minutes each) underwater pedaling exercises on a WSB (Aqquatix S.r.l., Italy) at 2 different immersion heights (armpit/hip). Breath-by-breath V’O2 and beat-by-beat HR were recorded continuously throughout dry-land sessions. The intensities of the exercise sessions were 45%-55% (stage#1) and 70%-80% (stage#2) of the underwater V’O2 peak (a metronome was set at the V’O2 peak pedaling rate). A repeated-measures (2 exercise intensities) 2-way (armpit/hip heights) ANOVA was performed on each variable and the Bonferroni test was used for post-hoc comparisons. Compared to the hip-height condition, pedaling immersed at the armpit level elicited significantly lower V’O2 and HR (significant solely at high-intensity for HR) responses, either exercising at high (25.5±4.6 vs. 29.1±4.8 mL∙kg-1∙min-1; 127±14 vs. 140±19 beats∙min-1) or low (17.9±3.6 vs. 20.1±3.6 mL∙kg-1∙min-1; 105±16 vs. 110±15 beats∙min-1) intensity. While peak V’O2 didn’t differ significantly between dry-land and underwater tests (36.2±5.4 vs. 38.8±5.8 mL∙kg-1∙min-1), mean HRs at both intensities and both water heights were significantly lower when expressed as percentage of the HR resulting from the underwater test to exhaustion, rather than applying the 220-age prediction equation.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

INFLUENCE OF AGE AND HAND GRIP STRENGTH ON FREESTYLE PERFORMANCES IN MASTER SWIMMERS

The aim of our work was to examine whether age and hand grip strength are correlated with 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m swimming performance times in Master swimmers and how correlation varies considering short, middle or long distances. The main finding of this work was that hand grip strength and age correlated significantly at each distance. Hand grip strength showed a relevant influence on performance time and explained 52% of variance of performance time in 50m race freestyle and only 15% in 800m race. Increasing age was a disadvantageous factor for performance time, and explained 45% of variance of performance time in 800m race freestyle and only 20% in 50 m race

A New Biocomposite Material Based on Wheat Waste and Suitable for 3D Printing Applications

Biopolymers, such as poly(lactic) acid (PLA), which is obtained through green synthesis pathways from renewable resources, has attracted considerable interest in recent years because of the increasing need to reduce petroleum-based plastic pollution and bringing their prices comparable with conventional thermoplastic commodities’ price (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene). The present work investigates the employment of 10% wt of natural materials, deriving from wheat milling process, as biofiller of PLA to develop a biocomposite filament suitable for 3D-printing technique. The inclusion of a cost-free natural material leads to a strong reduction of the whole material cost. Implementing this new class of composite material to additive manufacturing technique allows to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of 3D printed products

Comparison between Two Different Two-Stage Transperineal Approaches to Treat Urethral Strictures or Bladder Neck Contracture Associated with Severe Urinary Incontinence that Occurred after Pelvic Surgery: Report of Our Experience

Introduction. The recurrence of urethral/bladder neck stricture after multiple endoscopic procedures is a rare complication that can follow prostatic surgery and its treatment is still controversial. Material and Methods. We retrospectively analyzed our data on 17 patients, operated between September 2001 and January 2010, who presented severe urinary incontinence and urethral/bladder neck stricture after prostatic surgery and failure of at least four conservative endoscopic treatments. Six patients underwent a transperineal urethrovesical anastomosis and 11 patients a combined transperineal suprapubical (endoscopic) urethrovesical anastomosis. After six months the patients that presented complete incontinence and no urethral stricture underwent the implantation of an artificial urethral sphincter (AUS). Results. After six months 16 patients were completely incontinent and presented a patent, stable lumen, so that they underwent an AUS implantation. With a mean followup of 50.5 months, 14 patients are perfectly continent with no postvoid residual urine. Conclusions. Two-stage procedures are safe techniques to treat these challenging cases. In our opinion, these cases could be managed with a transperineal approach in patients who present a perfect operative field; on the contrary, in more difficult cases, it would be preferable to use the other technique, with a combined transperineal suprapubical access, to perform a pull-through procedure

EQUATION REGRESSION MODEL FOR THE 50 M FREESTYLE PERFORMANCE IN ELITE MASTER SWIMMERS

This study was conducted during the 10th World Masters Championships, held in Riccione, Italy, June 3-11, 2004. The aim was to investigate, in male and female elite master swimmers, the relationships between performance time and age, anthropometric characteristics (weight, stature, arm and forearm lengths and forearm volume) and muscle strength (hand grip). Performance times were recorded during 50 m freestyle events. Anthropometric values and hand grip were collected the same day the competition in a field laboratory organised beside the swimming pool. For this study we considered twenty eight volunteers: 15 men aged 42-81 years and 13 women aged 4173 years. Firstly, the anthropometrical characteristics. the hand grip strength and the performance time were used for a simple correlation analysis. Subsequently a multiple regression analysis was carried out to create a swimming time prediction model for the 50 freestyle performances. It revealed that in 50 m freestyle women race, age, weight and strength explained about 97% of the variance in performance. This study provided novel information which could be useful in designing training programs, optimizing swimmer's resources or capabilities

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at s√=7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pTpT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HTHT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb−1. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pTpT distributions of the leading jets at high pTpT values, the distributions of the HTHT at high-HTHT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.Funded by SCOAP

Chemical composition of Cinnamosma madagascariensis (Cannelaceae) essential oil and its larvicidal potential against the filariasis vector Culex quinquefasciatus Say

Madagascar flora is diverse and unique. Cinnamosma madagascariensis is an endemic species widely present in the forests of Madagascar. This plant has important traditional uses ranging from management of dementia, epilepsy, headache to malaria. Fewdata have been reported about the chemical composition of the essential oil, and no studies have been published on its bioactivity againstmosquitoes. Here,we focus on the chemical composition of essential oils extracted from C. madagascariensis stem bark and leaves, and their larvicidal potential against the filariasis vector Culex quinquefasciatus. GC-MS analysis revealed differences between the chemical volatile profiles of leaves and bark oils. In the former, linalool (30.1%), limonene (12.0%), myrcene (8.9%) and α-pinene (8.4%) were the major constituents, while in the latter β-pinene (33.3%), α-pinene (19.3%) and limonene (12.0%) were the most representative compounds. Acute toxicity experiments conducted on larvae of the filariasis vector C. quinquefasciatus led to LC50 of 61.6 μL L−1 and 80.1 μL L−1 for the bark and the leaf essential oils, respectively. Overall, the chance to use compounds from the C. madagascariensis bark and leaf essential oils against filariasis vectors seems promising, since they are effective at moderate doses and could be an advantageous alternative to build newer and safer mosquito control tools. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about the chemical composition of C. madagascariensis essential oils