The Effect of Asymmetry on Pregnancy-Related Pain in the Postpartum Period

Nearly 50% of women experience back pain and other lower extremity pain during pregnancy, with many reporting lasting pain postpartum. Pregnant women experience changes to their pelvis and lower extremities that do not always return to pre-pregnancy baseline. Not much is known of the lingering effects of pregnancy related asymmetry and its relationship to pain. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess asymmetries of the pelvis and lower extremities to determine whether malalignment is related to areas of pain at the low back, hip, thigh, knee, leg, and foot/ankle. Methods: Seventeen postpartum women and seven nulliparous controls were recruited to participate. Postpartum women were placed in a ‘no pain’ and ‘pain” group based on a Visual Analog Scale pain questionnaire. Biomechanical measurements were taken bilaterally for: leg length, foot width, foot length, arch drop, arch index, arch height index, arch rigidity index, rearfoot angle, dynamic knee valgus, and hip muscular strength. Measurements of hypermobility and flexibility were taken using Beighton’s scale and Sit and Reach test. Results/Conclusion: Several relationships exist between pelvic and lower extremity asymmetry and pain in postpartum women. We identified multiple areas of asymmetry at the hip, knee, and foot that were correlated to pain. This information may be helpful to clinicians and the treatment of asymmetries during pregnancy to prevent pain postpartum. With the high prevalence of pain that still remains postpartum, further research is necessary. A larger sample size is needed to validate the trends found in this study regarding asymmetry and pain

Antenna sunshield membrane

An RF-transparent sunshield membrane covers an antenna reflector such as a parabolic dish. The blanket includes a single dielectric sheet of polyimide film 1/2-mil thick. The surface of the film facing away from the reflector is coated with a transparent electrically conductive coating such as vapor-deposited indium-tin oxide. The surface of the film facing the reflector is reinforced by an adhesively attached polyester or glass mesh, which in turn is coated with a white paint. In a particular embodiment of the invention, polyurethane paint is used. In another embodiment of the invention, a layer of paint primer is applied to the mesh under a silicone paint, and the silicone paint is cured after application for several days at room temperature to enhance adhesion to the primer

Pedestrian information signs : a case study in accessible information for signalised crossings in Cape Town, South Africa

The primary focus of information design products is the communication of a specific message to the end user in a way that is clear, accessible and easy to understand. Appropriate design has the advantage of preventing poor user experiences and lost opportunities. A well designed information sign will also meet the needs of the general environment or population, rather than just the needs of a special-interest group. The true spirit of ?universal design? is recognised when a good design transcends the needs of a specific group and instead becomes a design which meets the requirements of all user groups. World class information signs will therefore allow for the convenience and safety of all users. Increased awareness of pedestrian and public transport user needs are translated into the implementation of advanced technological designs, instruments and facilities in urban environments. Audible, tactile pedestrian push button instruments are an example of this type of technological advances found at signalised intersections in recent years. With the implementation of such new or different technology, additional user information may minimise the safety risk created when signalised pedestrian crossings are misinterpreted or used inappropriately by road users. International precedents in this field indicate the benefit of providing additional user information in the form of pedestrian safety signs to compliment new or updated pedestrian bush button instruments. This papers describes a project commissioned by the City of Cape Town for the conceptualisation, design development and production of an accessible pedestrian information sign to be implemented at signalised pedestrian crossings in Cape Town. The objective of this project is to increase pedestrian and road user awareness and understanding of the way in which the pedestrian bush button instrument should be used.Paper presented at the 35th Annual Southern African Transport Conference 4-7 July 2016 "Transport ? a catalyst for socio-economic growth and development opportunities to improve quality of life", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.The Minister of Transport, South AfricaTransportation Research Board of the US

Tuba, a Cdc42 GEF, is required for polarized spindle orientation during epithelial cyst formation

An RNAi screen picks Tuba out of the GTPase exchange factor (GEF) orchestra as a regulator of cell polarity in epithelial morphogenesis. (See also a companion paper from Rodriguez-Fraticelli et al., in this issue.

Silencing the CSF-1 Axis Using Nanoparticle Encapsulated siRNA Mitigates Viral and Autoimmune Myocarditis

Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the heart muscle most commonly caused by viral infection and often maintained by autoimmunity. Virus-induced tissue damage triggers chemokine production and, subsequently, immune cell infiltration with pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokine production follows. In patients, the overall inflammatory burden determines the disease outcome. Following the aim to define specific molecules that drive both immunopathology and/or autoimmunity in inflammatory heart disease, here we report on increased expression of colony stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1) in patients with myocarditis. CSF-1 controls monocytes originating from hematopoietic stem cells and subsequent progenitor stages. Both, monocytes and macrophages are centrally involved in mediating tissue damage and fibrotic scarring in the heart. CSF-1 influences monocytes via engagement of CSF-1 receptor, and it is also produced by cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system themselves. Based on this, we sought to modulate the virus-triggered inflammatory response in an experimental model of Coxsackievirus B3-induced myocarditis by silencing the CSF-1 axis in myeloid cells using nanoparticle-encapsulated siRNA. siCSF-1 inverted virus-mediated immunopathology as reflected by lower troponin T levels, a reduction of accumulating myeloid cells in heart tissue and improved cardiac function. Importantly, pathogen control was maintained and the virus was efficiently cleared from heart tissue. Since viral heart disease triggers heart-directed autoimmunity, in a second approach we investigated the influence of CSF-1 upon manifestation of heart tissue inflammation during experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM). EAM was induced in Balb/c mice by immunization with a myocarditogenic myosin-heavy chain-derived peptide dissolved in complete Freund's adjuvant. siCSF-1 treatment initiated upon established disease inhibited monocyte infiltration into heart tissue and this suppressed cardiac injury as reflected by diminished cardiac fibrosis and improved cardiac function at later states. Mechanistically, we found that suppression of CSF-1 production arrested both differentiation and maturation of monocytes and their precursors in the bone marrow. In conclusion, during viral and autoimmune myocarditis silencing of the myeloid CSF-1 axis by nanoparticle-encapsulated siRNA is beneficial for preventing inflammatory tissue damage in the heart and preserving cardiac function without compromising innate immunity's critical defense mechanisms

Search for R-parity violating supersymmetry via the LLE couplings lambda_{121}, lambda_{122} or lambda_{133} in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV

A search for gaugino pair production with a trilepton signature in the framework of R-parity violating supersymmetry via the couplings lambda_121, lambda_122, or lambda_133 is presented. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of L~360/pb, were collected from April 2002 to August 2004 with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV. This analysis considers final states with three charged leptons with the flavor combinations eel, mumul, and eetau (l=e or mu). No evidence for supersymmetry is found and limits at the 95% confidence level are set on the gaugino pair production cross section and lower bounds on the masses of the lightest neutralino and chargino are derived in two supersymmetric models.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures (fig2 includes 3 subfigures

Search for Large Extra Spatial Dimensions in Dimuon Production with the D0 Detector

We present the results of a search for the effects of large extra spatial dimensions in $p{\bar p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 1.96 TeV in events containing a pair of energetic muons. The data correspond to 246 \ipb of integrated luminosity collected by the \D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. Good agreement with the expected background was found, yielding no evidence for large extra dimensions. We set 95% C.L. lower limits on the fundamental Planck scale between 0.85 TeV and 1.27 TeV within several formalisms. These are the most stringent limits achieved in the dimuon channel to date.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. Minor changes in v2 to match the published versio