The effectiveness of classification-specific physical therapy for people with low back pain within dominant movement-based schemes: A systematic review

Background: Identification of homogenous subgroups of patients with low back pain (LBP) and classification-based treatment have been recommended by some researchers and primary care clinicians. However, evidence regarding the effectiveness of this approach is not conclusive; one reason for this controversy appears to be the heterogeneity of trials in this context. Methods: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of classification-specific physical therapy in patients with LBP. The included trials were investigated in more homogeneous categories with respect to their classification scheme. Electronic databases including Medline, Cochrane, Ovid, Scopus, and PEDro were searched systematically for English-language randomized controlled trials (RCTs), published from 1980 to October 3, 2015. We included studies on LBP cases, which aimed to compare classification-specific physical therapies with non-specific treatments lacking patient classification. PEDro scoring was used to check the quality of the included trials, and the GRADE approach was used to evaluate the overall quality of evidence. Data on participants� characteristics, sample size, and inclusion/exclusion criteria were extracted to obtain an overview of the included RCTs. Results: A total of 12 RCTs were identified and categorized into four classification schemes. Some evidence supporting classification-specific treatment was found in each of the schemes. However, the reported evidence was conflicting predominantly due to differences in the study design. Also, GRADE quality assessment indicated the low quality of evidence for both approaches. Conclusions: Categorization of trials based on their classification scheme to investigate the efficacy of classification-based physical therapy could reduce the heterogeneity of trials and allow researchers to understand the contradictory results in this context. © 2016, Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal

Dysregulation of Connexin expression plays a pivotal role in psoriasis

Background: Psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory disease affecting 2–3% of the population, is characterised by epidermal hyperplasia, a sustained pro-inflammatory immune response and is primarily a T-cell driven disease. Previous work determined that Connexin26 is upregulated in psoriatic tissue. This study extends these findings. Methods: Biopsies spanning psoriatic plaque (PP) and non-involved tissue (PN) were compared to normal controls (NN). RNA was isolated and subject to real-time PCR to determine gene expression profiles, including GJB2/CX26, GJB6/CX30 and GJA1/CX43. Protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Keratinocytes and fibroblasts were isolated and used in 3D organotypic models. The pro-inflammatory status of fibroblasts and 3D cultures was assessed via ELISA and RnD cytokine arrays in the presence or absence of the connexin channel blocker Gap27. Results: Connexin26 expression is dramatically enhanced at both transcriptional and translational level in PP and PN tissue compared to NN (>100x). In contrast, CX43 gene expression is not affected, but the protein is post-translationally modified and accumulates in psoriatic tissue. Fibroblasts isolated from psoriatic patients had a higher inflammatory index than normal fibroblasts and drove normal keratinocytes to adopt a “psoriatic phenotype” in a 3D-organotypic model. Exposure of normal fibroblasts to the pro-inflammatory mediator peptidoglycan, isolated from Staphylococcus aureus enhanced cytokine release, an event protected by Gap27. Conclusion: dysregulation of the connexin26:43 expression profile in psoriatic tissue contributes to an imbalance of cellular events. Inhibition of connexin signalling reduces pro-inflammatory events and may hold therapeutic benefit

Effect of oral administration of pioglitazone on follicular dynamics in Holstein dairy cows

This study investigated the effects of oral administration of pioglitazone (PGT), a specific and synthetic ligand of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors gamma (PPARγ), on follicular dynamics and corpus luteum (CL) functionality in dairy cows. Cows exhibiting strong signs of estrus after 2 injections of PGF2α (given14 d apart) at d 30 postpartum (n = 28) were allotted to four groups (n = 7 cows/treatment) and orally received 6 mg PGT/kg body weight/day according to the following protocol: no PGT (control); PGT for 14 d from 7 d before expected estrus (10 d after 1st injection of PGF2α) to 7 d after observed estrus (PGT14); PGT for 21 d after observed estrus (PGT21); and PGT for 28 d, 7 d before expected estrus to 21 d after observed estrus (PGT28). During the first follicular wave, number of follicles (total and small) increased in PGT14 and PGT28 cows compared to the control group (P < 0.05). During the ovulatory wave, number of total and small follicles increased in PGT28 (P < 0.05) and PGT21 (P < 0.10) compared with PGT14 and control cows. Size of the largest follicle at first wave was greater in PGT28 (P < 0.05), PGT14 (P < 0.05) and PGT21 (P < 0.10) compared to the control cows. Maximal size of the ovulatory follicle was greater in PGT28 (P < 0.05) and PGT21 (P < 0.10) groups compared to the control group. Growth rate of the largest follicle at first wave was higher (P < 0.05) in PGT-treated cows, while growth rate of the ovulatory wave was higher in PGT28 and PGT21 groups, leading to shorter days from luteolysis to ovulation. Pioglitazone administration did not affect CL size, but increased progesterone (P4) concentration. The PGT14 and PGT28 cows had higher maximal plasma P4 concentration and shorter intervals to reach maximal plasma P4 compared to the control group. In conclusion, oral administration of PGT had some positive effects on follicular development and circulating P4 levels which may be conducive to better reproductive performance

Dielectrical Properties of CeO2 Nanoparticles at Different Temperatures

A template-free precipitation method was used as a simple and low cost method for preparation of CeO2 nanoparticles. The structure and morphology of the prepared nanoparticle samples were studied in detail using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) measurements. The whole powder pattern modelling (WPPM) method was applied on XRD data to accurately measure the crystalline domain size and their size distribution. The average crystalline domain diameter was found to be 5.2 nm, with a very narrow size distribution. UV-visible absorbance spectrum was used to calculate the optical energy band gap of the prepared CeO2 nanoparticles. The FT-IR spectrum of prepared CeO2 nanoparticles showed absorption bands at 400 cm(-1) to 450 cm(-1) regime, which correspond to CeO2 stretching vibration. The dielectric constant (er) and dielectric loss (tan delta) values of sintered CeO2 compact consolidated from prepared nanoparticles were measured at different temperatures in the range from 298 K (room temperature) to 623 K, and at different frequencies from 1 kHz to 1 MHz

Autoimmune and autoinflammatory mechanisms in uveitis

The eye, as currently viewed, is neither immunologically ignorant nor sequestered from the systemic environment. The eye utilises distinct immunoregulatory mechanisms to preserve tissue and cellular function in the face of immune-mediated insult; clinically, inflammation following such an insult is termed uveitis. The intra-ocular inflammation in uveitis may be clinically obvious as a result of infection (e.g. toxoplasma, herpes), but in the main infection, if any, remains covert. We now recognise that healthy tissues including the retina have regulatory mechanisms imparted by control of myeloid cells through receptors (e.g. CD200R) and soluble inhibitory factors (e.g. alpha-MSH), regulation of the blood retinal barrier, and active immune surveillance. Once homoeostasis has been disrupted and inflammation ensues, the mechanisms to regulate inflammation, including T cell apoptosis, generation of Treg cells, and myeloid cell suppression in situ, are less successful. Why inflammation becomes persistent remains unknown, but extrapolating from animal models, possibilities include differential trafficking of T cells from the retina, residency of CD8(+) T cells, and alterations of myeloid cell phenotype and function. Translating lessons learned from animal models to humans has been helped by system biology approaches and informatics, which suggest that diseased animals and people share similar changes in T cell phenotypes and monocyte function to date. Together the data infer a possible cryptic infectious drive in uveitis that unlocks and drives persistent autoimmune responses, or promotes further innate immune responses. Thus there may be many mechanisms in common with those observed in autoinflammatory disorders

The effect of nanoparticle size on thermal diffusivity of gold nano-fluid measured using thermal lens technique

A dual beam mode-mismatched thermal lens method has been employed to investigate the dependence of thermal diffusivity of gold nanofluid on nanoparticles sizes. The samples were prepared at various sizes by utilizing the gamma radiation method. In the dual beam mode-mismatched thermal lens a diode laser (532 nm) was used as an excitation beam and a He-Ne laser with the beam output at 632.8 nm was used as a probe beam. Thermal diffusivity of gold nano-fluid increased with the increasing particle sizes ranging from 10.4 to 29.6 nm. [DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2971/jeos.2013.13026