Satellite comparison of the seasonal circulation in the Benguela and California current systems

Satellite surface height and surface temperature fields are used to examine the seasonal surface circulation in the Benguela and California Current systems. In the California Current system, an equatorward jet develops in spring and summer near to the coast, with a latitudinal structure that responds to the equatorward longshore winds. This jet moves offshore from spring to autumn and contributes eddy kinetic energy to the deep ocean. In the Benguela system north of 32°S, winds are upwelling-favourable and currents are equatorward all year, but stronger in summer. The current strengthens in summer, when water parcels with high steric heights move intothe region offshore of the jet from the Agulhas Retroflection area at the same time that steric heights next to the coast drop as a result of coastal upwelling. Off the Cape (32–34°S), winds and currents are more seasonal. TheGeosat altimeter fields do not resolve the equatorward flow along the SST front next to the coast in spring and summer, but pick up strong equatorward flow off the Cape in autumn and winter, after the front moves offshore

Maternal nutrition, seasonality and epigenetics: an exploration of one-carbon metabolism and a novel nutritional supplement design in The Gambia

A series of studies in rural Gambia established first-in-human evidence that periconceptional environment, including maternal methyl-donor nutritional status, predicts offspring DNA methylation. Methyl donor status is largely determined by the complex interlinking pathways of one-carbon metabolism. Women’s methyl donor status (‘methylation potential’) is higher in the Gambian rainy season than in the dry season. Compared to infants conceived in the rainy season, those conceived in the dry season have decreased methylation at metastable epialleles (MEs). MEs are genomic loci whose methylation states are established in the very early embryo prior to gastrulation. Dry season conceptions are also associated with methylation patterns suggestive of a loss of imprinting at the VTRNA2-1 gene, a putative tumour suppressor and regulator of innate immunity. The long-term goal is to design an intervention that shifts the maternal metabolome to improve regulation of the infant epigenome by providing micronutrients in the ratio and quantity necessary for optimal one-carbon metabolism all year round. To achieve this we first require a proof-of-concept trial showing that a nutritional supplement can address nutritional imbalances and increase methylation potential in non-pregnant women. This step provides the overall rationale for this thesis. The research in this thesis contributes three key areas to existing knowledge of nutritional epigenetics in The Gambia. Firstly, it characterises seasonal differences in plasma nutritional biomarkers in a new dataset, validating the findings from previous studies and extending the consideration to new metabolites. Secondly, it explores how maternal nutritional predictors of infant DNA methylation may change between seasons, highlighting the importance of considering seasonality and underlying nutritional status in nutritional epigenetic research. Thirdly, it describes the design of a novel drink powder supplement, tailored to the target population by analysing negative nutritional predictors of homocysteine (designed to increase methylation potential). A clinical trial tested this new supplement alongside an existing multiple micronutrient tablet (UNIMMAP) amongst non-pregnant women in rural Gambia. Both interventions proved to be promising candidates for future epigenetic trials, acting on metabolic pathways to increase methylation potential. Whilst the explicit targeting of DNA methylation profiles by nutritional interventions remains premature, accumulating evidence supports a focus on nutrition-sensitive epigenetic mechanisms as potential contributors to the developmental origins of health and disease

The Effects of Medical Cannabis and Physical Therapy in Patients with Chronic Pain and/or Parkinson\u27s Disease: Protocol Study

Background. There is limited research exploring how physical therapy coupled with medical cannabis use in patients with chronic pain and/or Parkinson’s disease can improve function and affect life satisfaction among patients. Objectives. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of medical cannabis coupled with skilled physical therapy in patients with Parkinson\u27s disease and/or chronic pain. Design. This would be a randomized experimental study containing 4 separate subject groups: medical cannabis and chronic pain, no cannabis and chronic pain, medical cannabis and Parkinson’s disease, no cannabis and Parkinson’s disease. Setting. Misericordia University Pro Bono Clinic, Dallas, PA Participants. Researchers would recruit a total of 80 subjects, 40 with chronic pain and 40 with Parkinson’s disease. All participants would have a legal prescription for medical cannabis in the state of Pennsylvania. Intervention. PT interventions may include, but are not limited to: exercises to work on balance, strength or flexibility, mobility training and manual therapy. Interventions would vary based on the subjects’ needs and presentation. Measurements. The outcomes measures used in this study would be The Numeric Pain Rating scale, Life Satisfaction Questionnaire-11, postural assessment using the Posture Screen Mobile application, and the gait parameters measured on the Zeno electronic walkway. Limitations. Perceived safety of subjects, small sample size, lack of current research in this realm. Conclusion. Researchers believe this research to be vital and important to the realms of physical therapy, medical cannabis, chronic pain and Parkinson’s disease and hope it can be carried out by future researchers.https://digitalcommons.misericordia.edu/research_posters2020/1066/thumbnail.jp

The Global Health interactive Curricula Experience (iCE) Platform & App : Technology that Enables Inter-professional Innovation

Global Health Initiatives Committee (GHIC) Serves the Jefferson community as the premier point of engagement for students & faculty interested in medical and public health issues that transcend national boundaries Creates an institutional focus on preparing students for public service careers in population health and public policy at local, national, and global levels To enable all TJU faculty to: - Deliver global health education, in a friendly, interactive format - Does not require an expert to deliver - Can be used in very small or large pieces depending on your need

Building Interprofessional Global Health Infrastructure at a University and Health System: Navigating Challenges and Scaling Successes

Mission: Global Jefferson will create sustainable programs of global distinction through collaboration that position Jefferson as a local and international destination and resource for education, research, and clinical activities. Global Jefferson is supported by the Associate Provost for Global Affairs, part of the Office of the Provost. Global activity at Jefferson includes: Global Health Initiatives Committee (GHIC) Service Learning Global Research & Exchange between institutions Pre-clinical, translational, clinical, and applied research Poster presented at: 8th Annual Global Health Conference of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH)https://jdc.jefferson.edu/globalhealthposters/1000/thumbnail.jp

Effects of Volitional Preemptive Abdominal Contraction on Shoulder Proprioception Following Shoulder Muscle Fatigue

The abdominal bracing maneuver, a volitional preemptive abdominal contraction (VPAC) strategy, is potentially beneficial to shoulder exercise performance. It is unclear how VPAC use affects shoulder function, including proprioception and shoulder muscle function following shoulder muscle fatigue caused by upper extremity dominant sports movements. Discovering methods that reduce its effects on shoulder proprioception and shoulder muscle function is important for clinical practice in orthopedic rehabilitation. PURPOSE: To identify VPAC effects on shoulder proprioception abilities and to identify VPAC effects on shoulder muscle electromyographic amplitudes, during seated proprioception trials, both with and without muscle fatigue present. METHODS: Thirty-nine participants (26 women, 13 men) participated in this study. Shoulder proprioception was measured by shoulder flexion reproduction angles. Kinematic data were collected during the shoulder flexion trials to determine the accuracy in the subjects’ ability to reproduce a reference angle. All data were collected before and after a shoulder muscle fatigue protocol. Electromyographic data from the anterior deltoid (AD), posterior deltoid (PD), upper trapezius (UT), lower trapezius (LT), serratus anterior (SA), and infraspinatus (IF) muscles were used to observe muscle contraction amplitudes during the angle reproduction trials. RESULTS: Shoulder reproduction angles were not significantly affected by VPAC or muscle fatigue. Individually, shoulder muscle fatigue significantly increased UT muscle amplitudes (Mdn = 0.059(0.135), p\u3c.008) and LT muscle amplitudes (Mdn = 0.023(0.059), p\u3c.008). VPAC significantly increased shoulder IF muscle amplitudes (Mdn = 0.019(0.038), p\u3c.008). CONCLUSION: The VPAC did not affect shoulder proprioception in this study, showing that the strategy may not be beneficial to improving proprioception in the shoulder joint. The affects of muscle fatigue on the selected shoulder muscles supported the observations in previous literature concerning muscle fatigue effects on selected shoulder muscle. Clinicians can use this information to assist with the creation of therapeutic exercise for the shoulder joint

Data extraction methods for systematic review (semi)automation: Update of a living systematic review [version 2; peer review: 3 approved]

Background: The reliable and usable (semi)automation of data extraction can support the field of systematic review by reducing the workload required to gather information about the conduct and results of the included studies. This living systematic review examines published approaches for data extraction from reports of clinical studies. Methods: We systematically and continually search PubMed, ACL Anthology, arXiv, OpenAlex via EPPI-Reviewer, and the dblp computer science bibliography. Full text screening and data extraction are conducted within an open-source living systematic review application created for the purpose of this review. This living review update includes publications up to December 2022 and OpenAlex content up to March 2023. Results: 76 publications are included in this review. Of these, 64 (84%) of the publications addressed extraction of data from abstracts, while 19 (25%) used full texts. A total of 71 (93%) publications developed classifiers for randomised controlled trials. Over 30 entities were extracted, with PICOs (population, intervention, comparator, outcome) being the most frequently extracted. Data are available from 25 (33%), and code from 30 (39%) publications. Six (8%) implemented publicly available tools Conclusions: This living systematic review presents an overview of (semi)automated data-extraction literature of interest to different types of literature review. We identified a broad evidence base of publications describing data extraction for interventional reviews and a small number of publications extracting epidemiological or diagnostic accuracy data. Between review updates, trends for sharing data and code increased strongly: in the base-review, data and code were available for 13 and 19% respectively, these numbers increased to 78 and 87% within the 23 new publications. Compared with the base-review, we observed another research trend, away from straightforward data extraction and towards additionally extracting relations between entities or automatic text summarisation. With this living review we aim to review the literature continually

Self-selected Foot Strike Patterns in Runners when Transitioning from the Shod to Barefoot Condition: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Purpose and Background: Recent research has begun to focus on foot strike patterns as they relate to injuries in runners. Runners who employ a rear-foot strike (RFS) pattern (in which the heel lands before the ball of the foot) are more likely to experience repetitive stress injuries such as tibial stress fractures, patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), and plantar fasciitis. Conversely, runners demonstrating a forefoot strike (FFS) pattern (defined as the ball of the foot-usually the 4th and 5th metatarsal heads-landing before the heel) are more susceptible to Achilles tendon, plantarflexor, and metatarsal injuries. Several systematic studies have concluded that barefoot runners employed a FFS pattern while shod runners used a RFS pattern. The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the effects of transitioning from traditionally shod running to barefoot running on self-selected initial contact patterns in long distance runners.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/dptcapstones/1010/thumbnail.jp