Is comorbidity in adolescence a predictor for adult low back pain? A prospective study of a young population

BACKGROUND: It has previously been shown that low back pain (LBP) often presents already in the teenage years and that previous LBP predicts future LBP. It is also well documented that there is a large degree of comorbidity associated with LBP, both in adolescents and adults. The objective of this study is to gain a deeper insight into the etiology of low back pain and to possibly develop a tool for early identification of high-risk groups. This is done by investigating whether different types of morbidity in adolescence are associated with LBP in adulthood. METHODS: Almost 10,000 Danish twins born between 1972 and 1982 were surveyed by means of postal questionnaires in 1994 and again in 2002. The questionnaires dealt with various aspects of general health, including the prevalence of LBP, classified according to number of days affected during the previous year (0, 1–7, 8–30, >30). The predictor variables used in this study were LBP, headache, asthma and atopic disease at baseline; the outcome variable was persistent LBP (>30 days during the past year) at follow-up. Associations between morbidity in 1994 and LBP in 2002 were investigated. RESULTS: LBP, headache and asthma in adolescence were positively associated with future LBP. There was no association between atopic disease and future LBP. Individuals with persistent LBP at baseline had an odds ratio of 3.5 (2.8–4.5) for future LBP, while the odds ratio for those with persistent LBP, persistent headache and asthma was 4.5 (2.5–8.1). There was a large degree of clustering of these disorders, but atopic disease was not part of this pattern. CONCLUSION: Young people from 12 to 22 years of age with persistent LBP during the previous year have an odds ratio of 3.5 persistent LBP eight years later. Both headache and asthma are also positively associated with future LBP and there is a large clustering of LBP, headache and asthma in adolescence

Lunar surface mechanical properties

The surface material at the Surveyor 5 site is granular and slightly cohesive. Spacecraft footpads plowed trenches in this material as the spacecraft slid during landing. For a compressible soil model, a static bearing capacity of 2.7 newtons/cm^2 gave best agreement with the observations. Static firing of the vernier engines against the surface moved surface particles; a crater 20 cm in diameter and about 1 cm deep was produced, apparently at engine shutdown. The permeability of the soil to gases, to a depth of about 25 cm, is 1 × 10^(−8) cm^2, corresponding to soil particles mostly 2 to 60 μ in diameter

Individualized diabetes nutrition education improves compliance with diet prescription

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of individualized diabetes nutrition education. The nutrition education program was open to all type 2 diabetes patients visiting the clinic center and finally 67 patients agreed to join the program. To compare with 67 education group subjects, 34 subjects were selected by medical record review. The education program consisted of one class session for 1-2 hours long in a small group of 4~5 patients. A meal planning using the food exchange system was provided according to the diet prescription and food habits of each subject. Measurements of clinical outcomes and dietary intakes were performed at baseline and 3 months after the education session. After 3 months, subjects in education group showed improvement in dietary behavior and food exchange knowledge. In education group, intakes of protein, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin B2, and folate per 1,000 kcal/day were significantly increased and cholesterol intake was significantly decreased. They also showed significant reductions in body weight, body mass index (BMI), and fasting blood concentrations of glucose (FBS), HbA1c, total cholesterol, and triglyceride. However, no such improvements were observed in control group. To evaluate telephone consultation effect, after the nutrition education session, 34 subjects of the 67 education group received telephone follow-up consultation once a month for 3 months. The others (33 subjects) had no further contact after the nutrition education session. Subjects in the telephone follow-up group showed a decrease in BMI, FBS, and HbA1c. Moreover, the subjects who did not receive telephone follow-up also showed significant decreases in BMI and FBS. These results indicated that our individually planned education program for one session was effective in rectifying dietary behavior problems and improving food exchange knowledge, and quality of diet, leading to an improvement in the clinical outcomes. In conclusion, our individualized nutrition education was effective in adherence to diet recommendation and in improving glycemic control and lipid concentrations, while follow-up by telephone helped to encourage the adherence to diet prescription

In vitro and in vivo Efficacy of New Blue Light Emitting Diode Phototherapy Compared to Conventional Halogen Quartz Phototherapy for Neonatal Jaundice

High intensity light emitting diodes (LEDs) are being studied as possible light sources for the phototherapy of neonatal jaundice, as they can emit high intensity light of narrow wavelength band in the blue region of the visible light spectrum corresponding to the spectrum of maximal bilirubin absorption. We developed a prototype blue gallium nitride LED phototherapy unit with high intensity, and compared its efficacy to commercially used halogen quartz phototherapy device by measuring both in vitro and in vivo bilirubin photodegradation. The prototype device with two focused arrays, each with 500 blue LEDs, generated greater irradiance than the conventional device tested. The LED device showed a significantly higher efficacy of bilirubin photodegradation than the conventional phototherapy in both in vitro experiment using microhematocrit tubes (44±7% vs. 35±2%) and in vivo experiment using Gunn rats (30±9% vs. 16±8%). We conclude that high intensity blue LED device was much more effective than conventional phototherapy of both in vitro and in vivo bilirubin photodegradation. Further studies will be necessary to prove its clinical efficacy

A falls prevention programme to improve quality of life, physical function and falls efficacy in older people receiving home help services: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Falls and fall-related injuries in older adults are associated with great burdens, both for the individuals, the health care system and the society. Previous research has shown evidence for the efficiency of exercise as falls prevention. An understudied group are older adults receiving home help services, and the effect of a falls prevention programme on health-related quality of life is unclear. The primary aim of this randomised controlled trial is to examine the effect of a falls prevention programme on quality of life, physical function and falls efficacy in older adults receiving home help services. A secondary aim is to explore the mediating factors between falls prevention and health-related quality of life. METHODS: The study is a single-blinded randomised controlled trial. Participants are older adults, aged 67 or older, receiving home help services, who are able to walk with or without walking aids, who have experienced at least one fall during the last 12 months and who have a Mini Mental State Examination of 23 or above. The intervention group receives a programme, based on the Otago Exercise Programme, lasting 12 weeks including home visits and motivational telephone calls. The control group receives usual care. The primary outcome is health-related quality of life (SF-36). Secondary outcomes are leg strength, balance, walking speed, walking habits, activities of daily living, nutritional status and falls efficacy. All measurements are performed at baseline, following intervention at 3 months and at 6 months' follow-up. Sample size, based on the primary outcome, is set to 150 participants randomised into the two arms, including an estimated 15-20% drop out. Participants are recruited from six municipalities in Norway. DISCUSSION: This trial will generate new knowledge on the effects of an exercise falls prevention programme among older fallers receiving home help services. This knowledge will be useful for clinicians, for health managers in the primary health care service and for policy makers

Analogue peptides for the immunotherapy of human acute myeloid leukemia

Accepted manuscript. The final publication is available at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00262-015-1762-9The use of peptide vaccines, enhanced by adjuvants, has shown some efficacy in clinical trials. However, responses are often short-lived and rarely induce notable memory responses. The reason is that self-antigens have already been presented to the immune system as the tumor develops, leading to tolerance or some degree of host tumor cell destruction. To try to break tolerance against self-antigens, one of the methods employed has been to modify peptides at the anchor residues to enhance their ability to bind major histocompatibility complex molecules, extending their exposure to the T-cell receptor. These modified or analogue peptides have been investigated as stimulators of the immune system in patients with different cancers with variable but sometimes notable success. In this review we describe the background and recent developments in the use of analogue peptides for the immunotherapy of acute myeloid leukemia describing knowledge useful for the application of analogue peptide treatments for other malignancies

Large Mesopelagic Fishes Biomass and Trophic Efficiency in the Open Ocean

With a current estimate of B1,000 million tons, mesopelagic fishes likely dominate the world total fishes biomass. However, recent acoustic observations show that mesopelagic fishes biomass could be significantly larger than the current estimate. Here we combine modelling and a sensitivity analysis of the acoustic observations from the Malaspina 2010 Circumnavigation Expedition to show that the previous estimate needs to be revised to at least one order of magnitude higher. We show that there is a close relationship between the open ocean fishes biomass and primary production, and that the energy transfer efficiency from phytoplankton to mesopelagic fishes in the open ocean is higher than what is typically assumed. Our results indicate that the role of mesopelagic fishes in oceanic ecosystems and global ocean biogeochemical cycles needs to be revised as they may be respiring B10% of the primary production in deep water