The Effects of a Closed-Chain, Eccentric Training Program on Hamstring Injuries of a Professional Football Cheerleading Team

Objective Hamstring injuries are a common occurrence among professional football cheerleaders. The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of an eccentric, closed-chain hamstring exercise intervention on hamstring injury–associated pain during the course of the football season among professional football cheerleaders. Methods Forty-three female cheerleaders participated in an eccentric, closed-chain hamstring exercise intervention protocol provided by doctors of chiropractic that incorporated loops of elastic-band or Thera-Band Loops (Hygenic Corporation, Akron, OH) during practice and at home during the regular football season. Hamstring injury–related pain was assessed in June, during team selection; in September, at the start of the season; and in December, at the end of season. No intervention was applied between June and September, although the sample participated in 4 hours of practice 2 to 3 times per week. The intervention was applied to the entire sample regardless of hamstring injury–related pain during the regular football season between September and December. The interventions included 2 exercises and were completed bilaterally 2 times per week at each biweekly practice and were encouraged to be done at least 3 additional times per week at home on nonpractice days. Results Among the subsample who reported hamstring-related injury pain between June and September, the exercise intervention significantly decreased (P \u3c .007) pain between September (6.07 ± 0.58) and December (3.67 ± 0.65). Conclusions The eccentric, closed-chain hamstring exercise intervention reduced hamstring injury–related pain among this group of professional football cheerleaders

Adhesion of Three Brands of Elastic Therapeutic Tape

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare, over a period of 5 days, the rate of adhesion of TheraBand® Kinesiology Tape (TKT) with either KT Tape® (KT) or Kinesio® Tex Gold (KTEX) under 25% elongation among healthy adults. Methods: In this study, 2 independent cohorts of 20 healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to simultaneously receive applications of 2 brands of deidentified elastic therapeutic tape (ETT) applied to their lower back at 25% elongation. Cohort 1 received TKT and KTEX tape, whereas cohort 2 received TKT and KT. Data were collected at 1 h (D1), 3 days (D3), and 5 days (D5) following the initial application of the ETT. Data collected included 3 digital photographs of the subjects’ lower back. The percentage of the tape that remained adhered (0%–100%) was assessed independently by 3 evaluators and then averaged to arrive at a percentage of tape adhesion for each brand of tape at each data collection point. Results: Repeated-measures ANOVA of cohort 1 indicated no differences (P \u3e .05) in adhesion between the TKT and KTEX at any data collection point, although post hoc analysis of the significant time effect indicated that the rate of adhesion of the KTEX brand declined from D1 (97%) to D3 (74%) to D5 (59%), whereas that of the TKT tape did not change over the duration of the study (97%, D1; 86%, D2; 70%, D3). In cohort 2, the analysis indicated a significant interaction effect with the KT brand (99%, D1; 67%, D2; 35%), declining over the course of the study and exhibiting lower rate of adhesion than the TKT (99%, D1; 83%, D2; 76%, D3) brand at D3 and D5. The rate of adhesion of the TKT tape did not significantly decline in cohort 2. Conclusions: Clinicians can use evidence from this study when choosing different ETT brands

The Short-Term Effects of 2 Different Cryotherapy Methods on Acute and Subacute, Noncomplicated, Bilateral Neck Pain

Background: Cryotherapy has since long been used by physical therapists and chiropractors in the management of acute pain; more recently, its use has been shown to be effective in managing chronic pain. Multiple studies have shown that both ice and menthol reduce blood flow to the affected area and help control pain; however, there is limited research to determine the form of cryotherapy that works better on individual patients. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of a cold pack and menthol topical gel on reports of pain among individuals with neck pain. Methods: In this randomized study, 51 individuals in the age range of 19–65 years (37 ± 11.2 years) with bilateral, nonradicular, acute neck pain (myalgia) were included. Cold packs and Biofreeze®, a topical analgesic, were applied on either side of the neck (ie, ice on one side and Biofreeze on the other). The patients were asked to rate their pain on a 0–10 visual analog scale for either side of the neck both before and immediately following the 10-minute treatment. In addition, the patients were asked to answer 2 questions about which modality they would prefer to use in the future for pain management and their level of comfort with each modality during its application and to rate their answers on a 5-point scale (1 = very unlikely or very uncomfortable and 5 = very likely or very comfortable). On the next day of treatment with cold packs and Biofreeze, patients were asked to choose their preferred mode of treatment among the two and the modality that had a longer-lasting effect. Results: Overall, when asked to rate the comfort and preference, patients preferred Biofreeze 8:1 (P = .000). The average score on the 5-point Likert scale was 4.20 and 2.57 for Biofreeze and cold pack, respectively. In addition, 9 out of 10 patients reported that the effect of Biofreeze lasted longer than that of ice (P = .000). Further, the average score for Biofreeze and ice was 4.47 to 2.63, respectively. For actual levels of pain relief, the average pretreatment visual analog scale score decreased from 6.24 to 3.65 for Biofreeze and from 6.31 to 5.00 for ice. A paired t test showed that both cold packs and Biofreeze significantly reduced pain (P = .000). However, the pain reduction was 2-fold with the Biofreeze treatment. Conclusions: Both cold packs and Biofreeze significantly reduced pain; however, there was a 2-fold reduction in pain with Biofreeze. Biofreeze was rated as substantially more comfortable; patients preferred it, and its effect lasted longer in 9 out of 10 trials. This study was the first to evaluate the immediate effects of 2 different cryotherapy methods. It is not unexpected that the results of this study would differ slightly from other published studies evaluating menthol products. Conservative care specialists are often looking for methods to improve patient satisfaction and compliance. The present study indicates that Biofreeze is the preferred method of cryotherapy application by many neck pain patients on their first visit to the clinic

Photon creation from vacuum and interactions engineering in nonstationary circuit QED

We study theoretically the nonstationary circuit QED system in which the artificial atom transition frequency, or the atom-cavity coupling, have a small periodic time modulation, prescribed externally. The system formed by the atom coupled to a single cavity mode is described by the Rabi Hamiltonian. We show that, in the dispersive regime, when the modulation periodicity is tuned to the `resonances', the system dynamics presents the dynamical Casimir effect, resonant Jaynes-Cummings or resonant Anti-Jaynes-Cummings behaviors, and it can be described by the corresponding effective Hamiltonians. In the resonant atom-cavity regime and under the resonant modulation, the dynamics is similar to the one occurring for a stationary two-level atom in a vibrating cavity, and an entangled state with two photons can be created from vacuum. Moreover, we consider the situation in which the atom-cavity coupling, the atomic frequency, or both have a small nonperiodic time modulation, and show that photons can be created from vacuum in the dispersive regime. Therefore, an analog of the dynamical Casimir effect can be simulated in circuit QED, and several photons, as well as entangled states, can be generated from vacuum due to the anti-rotating term in the Rabi Hamiltonian.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures. Talk presented at the International Workshop "60 Years of Casimir Effect", 23 - 27 June, 2008, Brasili

Adaptation of gastrointestinal nematode parasites to host genotype: single locus simulation models

Background: Breeding livestock for improved resistance to disease is an increasingly important selection goal. However, the risk of pathogens adapting to livestock bred for improved disease resistance is difficult to quantify. Here, we explore the possibility of gastrointestinal worms adapting to sheep bred for low faecal worm egg count using computer simulation. Our model assumes sheep and worm genotypes interact at a single locus, such that the effect of an A allele in sheep is dependent on worm genotype, and the B allele in worms is favourable for parasitizing the A allele sheep but may increase mortality on pasture. We describe the requirements for adaptation and test if worm adaptation (1) is slowed by non-genetic features of worm infections and (2) can occur with little observable change in faecal worm egg count. Results: Adaptation in worms was found to be primarily influenced by overall worm fitness, viz. the balance between the advantage of the B allele during the parasitic stage in sheep and its disadvantage on pasture. Genetic variation at the interacting locus in worms could be from de novo or segregating mutations, but de novo mutations are rare and segregating mutations are likely constrained to have (near) neutral effects on worm fitness. Most other aspects of the worm infection we modelled did not affect the outcomes. However, the host-controlled mechanism to reduce faecal worm egg count by lowering worm fecundity reduced the selection pressure on worms to adapt compared to other mechanisms, such as increasing worm mortality. Temporal changes in worm egg count were unreliable for detecting adaptation, despite the steady environment assumed in the simulations. Conclusions: Adaptation of worms to sheep selected for low faecal worm egg count requires an allele segregating in worms that is favourable in animals with improved resistance but less favourable in other animals. Obtaining alleles with this specific property seems unlikely. With support from experimental data, we conclude that selection for low faecal worm egg count should be stable over a short time frame (e.g. 20 years). We are further exploring model outcomes with multiple loci and comparing outcomes to other control strategies

Global and regional brain metabolic scaling and its functional consequences

Background: Information processing in the brain requires large amounts of metabolic energy, the spatial distribution of which is highly heterogeneous reflecting complex activity patterns in the mammalian brain. Results: Here, it is found based on empirical data that, despite this heterogeneity, the volume-specific cerebral glucose metabolic rate of many different brain structures scales with brain volume with almost the same exponent around -0.15. The exception is white matter, the metabolism of which seems to scale with a standard specific exponent -1/4. The scaling exponents for the total oxygen and glucose consumptions in the brain in relation to its volume are identical and equal to $0.86\pm 0.03$, which is significantly larger than the exponents 3/4 and 2/3 suggested for whole body basal metabolism on body mass. Conclusions: These findings show explicitly that in mammals (i) volume-specific scaling exponents of the cerebral energy expenditure in different brain parts are approximately constant (except brain stem structures), and (ii) the total cerebral metabolic exponent against brain volume is greater than the much-cited Kleiber's 3/4 exponent. The neurophysiological factors that might account for the regional uniformity of the exponents and for the excessive scaling of the total brain metabolism are discussed, along with the relationship between brain metabolic scaling and computation.Comment: Brain metabolism scales with its mass well above 3/4 exponen

The N-Terminal Domain of the Arenavirus L Protein Is an RNA Endonuclease Essential in mRNA Transcription

Arenaviridae synthesize viral mRNAs using short capped primers presumably acquired from cellular transcripts by a ‘cap-snatching’ mechanism. Here, we report the crystal structure and functional characterization of the N-terminal 196 residues (NL1) of the L protein from the prototypic arenavirus: lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. The NL1 domain is able to bind and cleave RNA. The 2.13 Å resolution crystal structure of NL1 reveals a type II endonuclease α/β architecture similar to the N-terminal end of the influenza virus PA protein. Superimposition of both structures, mutagenesis and reverse genetics studies reveal a unique spatial arrangement of key active site residues related to the PD…(D/E)XK type II endonuclease signature sequence. We show that this endonuclease domain is conserved and active across the virus families Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae and Orthomyxoviridae and propose that the arenavirus NL1 domain is the Arenaviridae cap-snatching endonuclease

Contesting longstanding conceptualisations of urban green space

Ever since the Victorian era saw the creation of “parks for the people,” health and wellbeing benefits have been considered a primary benefit of urban parks and green spaces. Today, public health remains a policy priority, with illnesses and conditions such as diabetes, obesity and depression a mounting concern, notably in increasingly urbanised environments. Urban green space often is portrayed as a nature-based solution for addressing such health concerns. In this chapter, Meredith Whitten investigates how the health and wellbeing benefits these spaces provide are limited by a narrow perspective of urban green space. Whitten explores how our understandings of urban green space remain rooted in Victorian ideals and calls into question how fit for purpose they are in twenty-first-century cities. Calling on empirical evidence collected in three boroughs in London with changing and increasing demographic populations, she challenges the long-held cultural underpinnings that lead to urban green space being portrayed “as a panacea to urban problems, yet treating it as a ‘cosmetic afterthought’” (Whitten, M, Reconceptualising green space: planning for urban green space in the contemporary city. Doctoral thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, U.K. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/. Accessed 12 Jun 2019, 2019b, p 18)

Old World Arenaviruses Enter the Host Cell via the Multivesicular Body and Depend on the Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport

The highly pathogenic Old World arenavirus Lassa virus (LASV) and the prototypic arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) use α-dystroglycan as a cellular receptor and enter the host cell by an unusual endocytotic pathway independent of clathrin, caveolin, dynamin, and actin. Upon internalization, the viruses are delivered to acidified endosomes in a Rab5-independent manner bypassing classical routes of incoming vesicular trafficking. Here we sought to identify cellular factors involved in the unusual and largely unknown entry pathway of LASV and LCMV. Cell entry of LASV and LCMV required microtubular transport to late endosomes, consistent with the low fusion pH of the viral envelope glycoproteins. Productive infection with recombinant LCMV expressing LASV envelope glycoprotein (rLCMV-LASVGP) and LCMV depended on phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase (PI3K) as well as lysobisphosphatidic acid (LBPA), an unusual phospholipid that is involved in the formation of intraluminal vesicles (ILV) of the multivesicular body (MVB) of the late endosome. We provide evidence for a role of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) in LASV and LCMV cell entry, in particular the ESCRT components Hrs, Tsg101, Vps22, and Vps24, as well as the ESCRT-associated ATPase Vps4 involved in fission of ILV. Productive infection with rLCMV-LASVGP and LCMV also critically depended on the ESCRT-associated protein Alix, which is implicated in membrane dynamics of the MVB/late endosomes. Our study identifies crucial cellular factors implicated in Old World arenavirus cell entry and indicates that LASV and LCMV invade the host cell passing via the MVB/late endosome. Our data further suggest that the virus-receptor complexes undergo sorting into ILV of the MVB mediated by the ESCRT, possibly using a pathway that may be linked to the cellular trafficking and degradation of the cellular receptor

The spatial structure of lithic landscapes : the late holocene record of east-central Argentina as a case study

Fil: Barrientos, Gustavo. División Antropología. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Catella, Luciana. División Arqueología. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Oliva, Fernando. Centro Estudios Arqueológicos Regionales. Facultad de Humanidades y Artes. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; Argentin