Glaucoma and the Optic Nerve

In summary, the anatomic characteristics of the optic nerve head have been described along the ophthalmoscopic interpretation of these characteristics. One hopes that this information combined with a knowledge of what constitutes glaucomatous abnormality in the optic disc will encourage the ophthalmic as well as non-ophthalmic practitioner to evaluate the optic nerve head and recognize those which are suspicious of glaucoma

Rossby wave dynamics of the North Pacific extra-tropical response to El Niño: importance of the basic state in coupled GCMs

The extra-tropical response to El Nino in a "low" horizontal resolution coupled climate model, typical of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change fourth assessment report simulations, is shown to have serious systematic errors. A high resolution configuration of the same model has a much improved response that is similar to observations. The errors in the low resolution model are traced to an incorrect representation of the atmospheric teleconnection mechanism that controls the extra-tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) during El Nino. This is due to an unrealistic atmospheric mean state, which changes the propagation characteristics of Rossby waves. These erroneous upper tropospheric circulation anomalies then induce erroneous surface circulation features over the North Pacific. The associated surface wind speed and direction errors create erroneous surface flux and upwelling anomalies which finally lead to the incorrect extra-tropical SST response to El Nino in the low resolution model. This highlights the sensitivity of the climate response to a single link in a chain of complex climatic processes. The correct representation of these processes in the high resolution model indicates the importance of horizontal resolution in resolving such processes

A descriptive study of a manual therapy intervention within a randomised controlled trial for hamstring and lower limb injury prevention

The journal has been informed by its publisher BioMed Central that contrary to the statement in this article [Wayne Hoskins, Henry Pollard, Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2010, 18:23], they have been advised by the authors' institution Macquarie University, that its Human Research Ethics Committee did not approve this study. Because the study was conducted without institutional ethics committee approval it has been retracted

How to select a chiropractor for the management of athletic conditions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chiropractors are an integral part of the management of musculoskeletal injuries. A considerable communication gap between the chiropractic and medical professions exists. Subsequently referring allopathic practitioners lack confidence in picking a chiropractic practitioner with appropriate management strategies to adequately resolve sporting injuries. Subsequently, the question is often raised: "how do you find a good chiropractor?".</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Best practice guidelines are increasingly suggesting that musculoskeletal injuries should be managed with multimodal active and passive care strategies. Broadly speaking chiropractors may be subdivided into "modern multimodal" or "classical" (unimodal) in nature. The modern multimodal practitioner is better suited to managing sporting injuries by incorporating passive and active care management strategies to address three important phases of care in the continuum of injury from the acute inflammation/pain phase to the chronic/rehabilitation phase to the injury prevention phase. In contrast, the unimodal, manipulation only and typically spine only approach of the classical practitioner seems less suited to the challenges of the injured athlete. Identifying what part of the philosophical management spectrum a chiropractor falls is important as it is clearly not easily evident in most published material such as Yellow Pages advertisements.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>Identifying a chiropractic practitioner who uses multimodal treatment of adequate duration, who incorporates active and passive components of therapy including exercise prescription whilst using medical terminology and diagnosis without mandatory x-rays or predetermined treatment schedules or prepaid contracts of care will likely result in selection of a chiropractor with the approach and philosophy suited to appropriately managing athletic conditions. Sporting organizations and associations should consider using similar criteria as a minimum standard to allow participation in health care team selections.</p

A family history of breast cancer will not predict female early onset breast cancer in a population-based setting

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: An increased risk of breast cancer for relatives of breast cancer patients has been demonstrated in many studies, and having a relative diagnosed with breast cancer at an early age is an indication for breast cancer screening. This indication has been derived from estimates based on data from cancer-prone families or from BRCA1/2 mutation families, and might be biased because BRCA1/2 mutations explain only a small proportion of the familial clustering of breast cancer. The aim of the current study was to determine the predictive value of a family history of cancer with regard to early onset of female breast cancer in a population based setting. METHODS: An unselected sample of 1,987 women with and without breast cancer was studied with regard to the age of diagnosis of breast cancer. RESULTS: The risk of early-onset breast cancer was increased when there were: (1) at least 2 cases of female breast cancer in first-degree relatives (yes/no; HR at age 30: 3.09; 95% CI: 128-7.44), (2) at least 2 cases of female breast cancer in first or second-degree relatives under the age of 50 (yes/no; HR at age 30: 3.36; 95% CI: 1.12-10.08), (3) at least 1 case of female breast cancer under the age of 40 in a first- or second-degree relative (yes/no; HR at age 30: 2.06; 95% CI: 0.83-5.12) and (4) any case of bilateral breast cancer (yes/no; HR at age 30: 3.47; 95%: 1.33-9.05). The positive predictive value of having 2 or more of these characteristics was 13% for breast cancer before the age of 70, 11% for breast cancer before the age of 50, and 1% for breast cancer before the age of 30. CONCLUSION: Applying family history related criteria in an unselected population could result in the screening of many women who will not develop breast cancer at an early age

Generation Gap and the Impact of the Web on Goods Quality Perceptions

This study explores how age and general online shopping experience affect consumer perceptions on product quality uncertainty. Using the survey data collected from 549 consumers, we investigated how they perceive the uncertainty of product quality on six search, experience and credence goods. The ANOVA results show that age and the Web shopping experience of consumers are significant factors. A generation gap is indeed seen for all but one experience good. Web shopping experience is not a significant factor for search goods but is for experience and credence goods. There is an interaction effect between age and Web shopping experience for one credence good. Implications of these results are discussed

Leadership and capacity building in international chiropractic research: introducing the chiropractic academy for research leadership (CARL).

In an evidence-based health care environment, healthcare professions require a sustainable research culture to remain relevant. At present however, there is not a mature research culture across the chiropractic profession largely due to deficiencies in research capacity and leadership, which may be caused by a lack of chiropractic teaching programs in major universities. As a response to this challenge the Chiropractic Academy for Research Leadership, CARL, was created with the aim of develop a global network of successful early-career chiropractic researchers under the mentorship of three successful senior academics from Australia, Canada, and Denmark. The program centres upon an annual week-long program residential that rotates continental locations over the first three-year cycle and between residentials the CARL fellows work on self-initiated research and leadership initiatives. Through a competivite application process, the first cohort was selected and consists of 13 early career researchers from five professions in seven countries who represent diverse areas of interests of high relevance for chiropractic. The first residential was held in Odense, Denmark, with the second being planned in April 2018 in Edmonton, Canada, and the final residential to be held in Sydney, Australia in 2019

First assessment of the comparative toxicity of ivermectin and moxidectin in adult dung beetles: Sub-lethal symptoms and pre-lethal consequences

Among macrocyclic lactones (ML), ivermectin (IVM) and moxidectin (MOX) potentially affect all Ecdysozoan species, with dung beetles being particularly sensitive. The comparative effects of IVM and MOX on adult dung beetles were assessed for the first time to determine both the physiological sub-lethal symptoms and pre-lethal consequences. Inhibition of antennal response and ataxia were tested as two intuitive and ecologically relevant parameters by obtaining the lowest observed effect concentration (LOEC) values and interpolating other relevant toxicity thresholds derived from concentration-response curves (IC50, as the concentration of each ML where the antennal response is inhibited by half; and pLC50, as the quantity of ingested ML where partial paralysis was observed by half of treated individuals) from concentration-response curves. Both sub-lethal and pre-lethal symptoms obtained in this study coincided in that IVM was six times more toxic than MOX for adult dung beetles. Values of LOEC, IC50 and pLC50 obtained for IVM and MOX evaluated in an environmental context indicate that MOX, despite needing more time for its elimination in the faeces, would be half as harmful to dung beetles as IVM. This approach will be valuable to clarify the real impact of MLs on dung beetle health and to avoid the subsequent environmental consequences

Genetic, environmental and stochastic factors in monozygotic twin discordance with a focus on epigenetic differences

PMCID: PMC3566971This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited