The Effect of Oral Contraceptive Pill Use on Knee Joint Laxity in Women

Schultz et al. (2004) demonstrated that 63% of the change in knee joint laxity (KJL) during a menstrual cycle was due to associated fluctuations in sex hormone levels. Use of oral contraceptives modulates the fluctuation of sex hormone levels during the menstrual cycle and thus may reduce fluctuation in KJL PURPOSE: Given that increased KJL is a known risk factor for sustaining knee injuries, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of oral contraceptive use on KJL during the follicular, ovulation, and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. METHODS: Sixty college-age women were screened for participation and fourteen (20.07±1.21 years, 163.05± 9.70, and 66.81± 12.32 kg) met the inclusion criteria, provided informed consent, and participated in the study. Based on screening questionnaires, participants were sorted into groups, oral contraceptive users (OC) and non-users (NOC). Each participant’s KJL was measured on six occasions, five days apart. KJL was measured using a KT-1000 Knee Arthrometer at 133 N. Measurements on days 1-7, 11-14, and 19-22 were used for data analysis to correspond with the three phases of the menstrual cycle. A 2x3 (group x phase) mixed model ANOVA was used to compare KJL between groups and across the three phases of the menstrual cycle. RESULTS: KJL are reported in Table 1. Group and phase did not interact to affect KJL (F(2,24)=1.92, p=0.17). KJL did not differ between OC and NOC users across the menstrual cycle (F(1,12)=0.07, p=0.80), and was not different between any phase of the menstrual cycle (F(2,24)=0.14, p=0.87). However, given that the spike in estradiol associated with the ovulation phase has been suggested to affect ligament laxity, a comparison between groups during this phase was conducted. Though KJL was larger for NOC than OC, the results of a one-tailed independent t-test suggest that this difference was not statistically significantly (t(12)= 1.72, p = 0.06). However, this difference was characterized by a large effect size (Cohen d= 0.92) suggesting that NOC users experience more KJL during the ovulation phase than OC users. CONCLUSION: The results of the study indicate that OC may play a role in KJL. However, with limited statistical power of these analyses, additional data are needed to fully assess this effect

Major Alterations of Phosphatidylcholine and Lysophosphotidylcholine Lipids in the Substantia Nigra Using an Early Stage Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting the nigrostriatal pathway, where patients do not manifest motor symptoms until >50% of neurons are lost. Thus, it is of great importance to determine early neuronal changes that may contribute to disease progression. Recent attention has focused on lipids and their role in pro- and anti-apoptotic processes. Howeve

Whole grain intakes in the diets of Irish children and teenagers

A growing body of evidence supports the inclusion of whole grain foods in the diet to help prevent certain chronic diseases. Although much of the research has been conducted in adult cohorts, it is thought that younger populations may also benefit from whole-grain-rich diets. The aim of the present study was to quantify the intake of whole grain in Irish children and teenagers, and assess the major sources of intake. Data used in the present study were from the National Children's Food Survey and the National Teens' Food Survey, which used 7d food diaries to collect data on habitual food and beverage consumption in representative samples of Irish children and teenagers. Results showed that over 90% of children (5-12 years) and over 86% of teenagers (13-17 years) are consumers of whole grain, with mean daily intakes of 18·5 and 23·2g/d, respectively. Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals made the greatest contribution to whole grain intakes for both children and teenagers (59·3 and 44·3%), followed by bread (14·4 and 26·5%), with wheat being the major source of intake, accounting for over 65% of all whole grains consumed. Whole grain consumers had significantly higher intakes of fibre, P and Mg in comparison with non-consumers of whole grain, even though whole grain intakes in this sample were well below the recommendation of three servings or 48g/d. The present study characterises, for the first time, the patterns of whole grain consumption in Irish children and teenagers and shows whole grain intake to be lo

The physicochemical investigation of hydrothermally reduced textile waste and application within carbon-based electrodes.

From Europe PMC via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: ppub 2019-04-01, epub 2019-04-10Publication status: PublishedTextile waste is on the rise due to the expanding global population and the fast fashion market. Large volumes of textile waste are increasing the need for new methods for recycling mixed fabric materials. This paper employs a hydrothermal conversion route for a polyester/cotton mix in phosphoric acid to generate carbon materials (hydrochars) for electrochemical applications. A combination of characterization techniques revealed the reaction products were largely comprised of two major components. The first is a granular material with a surface C : O ratio of 2 : 1 interspersed with phosphorous and titanium proved using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and the other is a crystalline material with a surface C : O ratio of 3 : 2 containing no phosphorous or titanium. The latter material was found via X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry to be terephthalic acid. Electrochemical experiments conducted using the hydrochar as a carbon paste electrode demonstrates an increase in current response compared to carbon reference materials. The improved current responses, intrinsically related to the surface area of the material, could be beneficial for electrochemical sensor applications, meaning that this route holds promise for the development of a cheap recycled carbon material, using straightforward methods and simple laboratory reagents

A holistic approach to fragile X syndrome integrated guidance for person‐centred care

Background: The Fragile X community has expressed a desire for centralised, national guidelines in the form of integrated guidance for Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). Methods: This article draws on existing literature reviews, primary research and clinical trials on FXS, a Fragile X Society conference workshop and first‐hand experience of clinicians who have worked with those living with FXS over many years. Results: The article scopes proposed integrated guidance over the life course, including appendices of symptoms, comorbidities and referral options for FXS and Fragile X Premutation Associated Conditions. Conclusion: Integrated guidance would provide an authoritative source for doctors, health professionals, therapists, care workers, social workers, educators, employers, families and those living with FXS, so that a holistic, person‐centred approach can be taken across the United Kingdom to garner the best outcomes for those with FXS

Do Interventions Designed to Support Shared Decision-Making Reduce Health Inequalities? : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Copyright: © 2014 Durand et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Background: Increasing patient engagement in healthcare has become a health policy priority. However, there has been concern that promoting supported shared decision-making could increase health inequalities. Objective: To evaluate the impact of SDM interventions on disadvantaged groups and health inequalities. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials and observational studies.Peer reviewe

The emergence of a stable neuronal ensemble from a wider pool of activated neurons in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex during appetitive learning in mice

Animals selectively respond to environmental cues associated with food reward to optimize nutrient intake. Such appetitive CS-US associations are thought to be encoded in select, stable neuronal populations or neuronal ensembles, which undergo physiological modifications during appetitive conditioning. These ensembles in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) control well-established, cue-evoked food seeking, but the mechanisms involved in the genesis of these ensembles are unclear. Here, we utilized male Fos-GFP mice that express the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in recently behaviorally-activated neurons, to reveal how dorsal mPFC neurons are recruited and modified to encode CS-US memory representations using an appetitive conditioning task. In the initial conditioning session, animals did not exhibit discriminated, cue-selective food seeking, but did so in later sessions indicating that a CS-US association was established. Using microprism-based in vivo 2-Photon imaging, we revealed that only a minority of neurons activated during the initial session was consistently activated throughout subsequent conditioning sessions and during cue-evoked memory recall. Notably, using ex vivo electrophysiology we found that neurons activated following the initial session exhibited transient hyper-excitability. Chemogenetically enhancing the excitability of these neurons throughout subsequent conditioning sessions interfered with the development of reliable cue-selective food seeking, indicated by persistent, non-discriminated performance. We demonstrate how appetitive learning consistently activates a subset of neurons to form a stable neuronal ensemble during the formation of a CS-US association. This ensemble may arise from a pool of hyper-excitable neurons activated during the initial conditioning session

Investigating the impact of extraneous distractions on consultations in general practice: Lessons learned

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Extraneous distractions may influence the flow of general practice consultations. This study piloted a methodology to examine the impact of interrupting general practitioners (GPs) while consulting actor-patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Six GPs were video recorded consulting six actor-patients each presenting a different clinical scenario in a simulated surgery. Five cases presented red flag cancer symptoms. Half the consultations were interrupted. Two independent assessors, blinded to the occurrence of interruptions, assessed consultation performance using the Leicester Assessment Package (LAP) for clinical competence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>24 of 36 consultations were video recorded with sufficient audio-visual clarity to allow scoring. The association between LAP score and three variables could be studied: a variety of interruptions, different GPs and various scenarios. Agreement between assessors on GP performance was poor and showed an increased bias with increasing LAP score. Despite this, the interruption did not significantly impact on assessor LAP scores (Mean difference: 0.22, P = 0.83) even after controlling for assessor, different GPs and scenarios.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Extraneous distractions had no impact on GP performance in this underpowered pilot study, a conclusion which needs to be confirmed in a larger study. However several important lessons were learned. Recorded actor-patient clinical sessions are logistically challenging. GPs whose skills were not previously assessed were working in unfamiliar surroundings dealing with relatively straight forward diagnostic challenges and may have anticipated the interruptions. In a redesign of this experiment it may be possible to eliminate some of these limitations.</p