Clinical effectiveness of laser acupuncture: A systematic review

AbstractThe use of laser light as an alternative to needles to stimulate acupuncture points has been promoted for almost three decades. However, there has been no systematic assessment of the evidence to support the effectiveness of this form of acupuncture to date. A systematic review was therefore undertaken of RCTs evaluating laser acupuncture as a primary intervention. Relevant studies (n = 18) were identified using computer-based literature searches and selected hand searches. Evidence was found to support the use of laser acupuncture in the treatment of myofascial pain, postoperative nausea and vomiting and for the relief of chronic tension headache. Laser acupuncture would appear to represent an effective form of acupuncture for the management of these conditions and could be considered as a viable alternative to more traditional forms of acupuncture point stimulation

Critical and Tricritical Hard Objects on Bicolorable Random Lattices: Exact Solutions

We address the general problem of hard objects on random lattices, and emphasize the crucial role played by the colorability of the lattices to ensure the existence of a crystallization transition. We first solve explicitly the naive (colorless) random-lattice version of the hard-square model and find that the only matter critical point is the non-unitary Lee-Yang edge singularity. We then show how to restore the crystallization transition of the hard-square model by considering the same model on bicolored random lattices. Solving this model exactly, we show moreover that the crystallization transition point lies in the universality class of the Ising model coupled to 2D quantum gravity. We finally extend our analysis to a new two-particle exclusion model, whose regular lattice version involves hard squares of two different sizes. The exact solution of this model on bicolorable random lattices displays a phase diagram with two (continuous and discontinuous) crystallization transition lines meeting at a higher order critical point, in the universality class of the tricritical Ising model coupled to 2D quantum gravity.Comment: 48 pages, 13 figures, tex, harvmac, eps

A Descriptive Study of the Practice Patterns of Massage New Zealand Massage Therapists

Background: Massage therapy has grown in popularity, yet little is known globally or in New Zealand about massage therapists and their practices. Purpose and Setting: The aims of this study were to describe the practice patterns of trained Massage New Zealand massage therapists in New Zealand private practice, with regard to therapist characteristics; practice modes and settings, and therapy characteristics; referral patterns; and massage therapy as an occupation. Research Design and Participants: A survey questionnaire was mailed to 66 trained massage therapist members of Massage New Zealand who were recruiting massage clients for a concurrent study of massage therapy culture. Results: Most massage therapists were women (83%), NZ European (76%), and holders of a massage diploma qualification (89%). Massage therapy was both a full- (58%) and part-time (42%) occupation, with the practice of massage therapy being the only source of employment for 70% of therapists. Nearly all therapists (94%) practiced massage for more than 40 weeks in the year, providing a median of 16 – 20 hours of direct client care per week. Most massage therapists worked in a “solo practice” (58%) and used a wide and active referral network. Almost all therapists treated musculoskeletal symptoms: the most common client issues or conditions treated were back pain/problem (99%), neck/shoulder pain/problem (99%), headache or migraine (99%), relaxation and stress reduction (96%), and regular recovery or maintenance massage (89%). The most frequent client fee per treatment was NZ$60 per hour in a clinic and NZ$1 per minute at a sports event or in the workplace. Therapeutic massage, relaxation massage, sports massage, and trigger-point therapy were the most common styles of massage therapy offered. Nearly all massage therapists (99%) undertook client assessment; 95% typically provided self-care recommendations; and 32% combined other complementary and alternative medicine therapies with their massage consultations. Conclusions: This study provides new information about the practice of massage therapy by trained massage therapists. It will help to inform the massage industry and other health care providers, potential funders, and policymakers about the provision of massage therapy in the NZ health care system

Severe Scene Learning Impairment, but Intact Recognition Memory, after Cholinergic Depletion of Inferotemporal Cortex Followed by Fornix Transection

To examine the generality of cholinergic involvement in visual memory in primates, we trained macaque monkeys either on an object-in-place scene learning task or in delayed nonmatching-to-sample (DNMS). Each monkey received either selective cholinergic depletion of inferotemporal cortex (including the entorhinal cortex and perirhinal cortex) with injections of the immunotoxin ME20.4-saporin or saline injections as a control and was postoperatively retested. Cholinergic depletion of inferotemporal cortex was without effect on either task. Each monkey then received fornix transection because previous studies have shown that multiple disconnections of temporal cortex can produce synergistic impairments in memory. Fornix transection mildly impaired scene learning in monkeys that had received saline injections but severely impaired scene learning in monkeys that had received cholinergic lesions of inferotemporal cortex. This synergistic effect was not seen in monkeys performing DNMS. These findings confirm a synergistic interaction in a macaque monkey model of episodic memory between connections carried by the fornix and cholinergic input to the inferotemporal cortex. They support the notion that the mnemonic functions tapped by scene learning and DNMS have dissociable neural substrates. Finally, cholinergic depletion of inferotemporal cortex, in this study, appears insufficient to impair memory functions dependent on an intact inferotemporal cortex

Pain and physical functioning in neuropathic pain: a systematic review of psychometric properties of various outcome measures

INTRODUCTION: A range of outcome measures across various domains are used to evaluate change following an intervention in clinical trials on chronic neuropathic pain (NeP). However, to capture a real change in the variable of interest, the psychometric properties of a particular measure should demonstrate appropriate methodological quality. Various outcome measures in the domains of pain and physical functioning have been used in the literature for NeP, for which individual properties (eg, reliability/validity) have been reported. To date, there is no definitive synthesis of evidence on the psychometric properties of those outcome measures; thus, the aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the methodological quality [COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guidelines] of studies that evaluated psychometric properties of pain and physical functioning outcome measures used for NeP. METHODS: Specific MeSH/keywords related to 3 areas (pain and/or physical functioning, psychometric properties, and NeP) were used to retrieve relevant studies (English language) in key electronic databases (MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), Scopus, AMED, and Web of Science) from database inception-July 2012. Articles retrieval/screening and quality analysis (COSMIN) were carried out by 2 independent reviewers. RESULTS: Twenty-four pain and thirty-seven physical functioning outcome measures were identified, varying in methodological quality from poor-excellent. CONCLUSION: Although a variety of pain and physical functioning outcome measures have been reported in the literature, few have demonstrate methodologically strong psychometric properties. Thus, future research is required to further investigate the psychometric properties of existing pain and physical functioning outcome measures used for clinical and research purposes

Effectiveness of a treadmill-based aerobic exercise intervention on pain, daily functioning, and quality of life in women with primary dysmenorrhea: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a treadmill-based aerobic exercise intervention on pain and associated symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea. Methods: Seventy women with primary dysmenorrhea were included in the study. The experimental group underwent supervised aerobic training for 4 weeks followed by unsupervised home exercise for the next 6 months. The control group continued usual care. The primary outcome was pain. Secondary outcomes included quality of life (QoL), daily functioning, and sleep. Results: After the 4-week training, compared to the control group exercise significantly improved primary outcomes pain quality (mean difference (MD) -1.9, 95% CI 3.8 to -0.04, p < 0.05), and intensity (MD -4.7, 95% CI -9.3 to -0.09, p < 0.05), but not present pain. Significant effects were also reported for pain interference (MD -1.7, 95% CI -3.4 to -0.02, p < 0.05) at 4 weeks; the other outcomes did not significantly differ between groups at this time. During the follow-up period of 7-months, the effect on pain improved to 22 mm (95% CI 18 to 25). Significant benefits of exercise were maintained up to 7-months for present pain, QoL and daily functioning. Conclusion: Exercise has significant effects on primary dysmenorrhea-related pain, QoL and function

Correlation Functions of Dense Polymers and c=-2 Conformal Field Theory

The model of dense lattice polymers is studied as an example of non-unitary Conformal Field Theory (CFT) with $c=-2$. ``Antisymmetric'' correlation functions of the model are proved to be given by the generalized Kirchhoff theorem. Continuous limit of the model is described by the free complex Grassmann field with null vacuum vector. The fundamental property of the Grassmann field and its twist field (both having non-positive conformal weights) is that they themselves suppress zero mode so that their correlation functions become non-trivial. The correlation functions of the fields with positive conformal weights are non-zero only in the presence of the Dirichlet operator that suppresses zero mode and imposes proper boundary conditions.Comment: 5 pages, REVTeX, remark is adde

Using a cognitive architecture to examine what develops

Different theories of development propose alternative mechanisms by which development occurs. Cognitive architectures can be used to examine the influence of each proposed mechanism of development while keeping all other mechanisms constant. An ACT-R computational model that matched adult behavior in solving a 21-block pyramid puzzle was created. The model was modified in three ways that corresponded to mechanisms of development proposed by developmental theories. The results showed that all the modifications (two of capacity and one of strategy choice) could approximate the behavior of 7-year-old children on the task. The strategy-choice modification provided the closest match on the two central measures of task behavior (time taken per layer, r = .99, and construction attempts per layer, r = .73). Modifying cognitive architectures is a fruitful way to compare and test potential developmental mechanisms, and can therefore help in specifying “what develops.