Grip strength measurements at two different wrist extension positions in chronic lateral epicondylitis-comparison of involved vs. uninvolved side in athletes and non athletes: a case-control study

Abstract Background Lateral epicondylitis is a common sports injury of the elbow caused due to altered muscle activation during repetitive wrist extension in many athletic and non-athletic endeavours. The amount of muscle activity and timing of contraction eventually is directly dependent upon joint position during the activity. The purpose of our study was to compare the grip strength in athletes with lateral epicondylalgia in two different wrist extension positions and compare them between involved and uninvolved sides of athletes and non-athletes. Methods An assessor-blinded case-control study of eight athletes and twenty-two non-athletes was done. The grip strength was measured using JAMAR® hand dynamometer in kilograms-force at 15 degrees (slightly extended) and 35 degrees (moderately extended) wrist extension positions (maintained by wrist splints) on both involved and uninvolved sides of athletes and non-athletes with unilateral lateral epicondylitis of atleast 3 months duration. Their pain was to be elicited with local tenderness and two of three tests being positive- Cozen's, Mill's manoeuvre, resisted middle finger extension tests. For comparisons of grip strength, Wilcoxon signed rank test was used for within-group comparison (between 15 and 35 degrees wrist extension positions) and Mann-Whitney U test was used for between-group (athletes vs. non-athletes) comparisons at 95% confidence interval and were done using SPSS 11.5 for Windows. Results Statistically significant greater grip strength was found in 15 degrees (27.75 ± 4.2 kgms in athletes; 16.45 ± 4.2 kgms in non-athletes) wrist extension than at 35 degrees (25.25 ± 3.53 kgm in athletes and 14.18 ± 3.53 kgm in non-athletes). The athletes had greater grip strength than non-athletes in each of test positions (11.3 kgm at 15 degrees and 11.07 kgm at 35 degrees) measured. There was also a significant difference between involved and uninvolved sides' grip strength at both wrist positions (4.44 ± .95 kgm at 15 degrees and 4.44 ± .86 kgm in 35 degrees) which was significant (p Conclusion The grip strength was greater in 15 degrees wrist extension position and this position could then be used in athletes with lateral epicondylalgia for grip strength assessment and designing wrist splint in this population.</p

TESSA: A toolkit for rapid assessment of ecosystem services at sites of biodiversity conservation importance

Sites that are important for biodiversity conservation can also provide significant benefits (i.e. ecosystem services) to people. Decision-makers need to know how change to a site, whether development or restoration, would affect the delivery of services and the distribution of any benefits among stakeholders. However, there are relatively few empirical studies that present this information. One reason is the lack of appropriate methods and tools for ecosystem service assessment that do not require substantial resources or specialist technical knowledge, or rely heavily upon existing data. Here we address this gap by describing the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment (TESSA). It guides local non-specialists through a selection of relatively accessible methods for identifying which ecosystem services may be important at a site, and for evaluating the magnitude of benefits that people obtain from them currently, compared with those expected under alternative land-uses. The toolkit recommends use of existing data where appropriate and places emphasis on enabling users to collect new field data at relatively low cost and effort. By using TESSA, the users could also gain valuable information about the alternative land-uses; and data collected in the field could be incorporated into regular monitoring programmes

Aptamer-based multiplexed proteomic technology for biomarker discovery

Interrogation of the human proteome in a highly multiplexed and efficient manner remains a coveted and challenging goal in biology. We present a new aptamer-based proteomic technology for biomarker discovery capable of simultaneously measuring thousands of proteins from small sample volumes (15 [mu]L of serum or plasma). Our current assay allows us to measure ~800 proteins with very low limits of detection (1 pM average), 7 logs of overall dynamic range, and 5% average coefficient of variation. This technology is enabled by a new generation of aptamers that contain chemically modified nucleotides, which greatly expand the physicochemical diversity of the large randomized nucleic acid libraries from which the aptamers are selected. Proteins in complex matrices such as plasma are measured with a process that transforms a signature of protein concentrations into a corresponding DNA aptamer concentration signature, which is then quantified with a DNA microarray. In essence, our assay takes advantage of the dual nature of aptamers as both folded binding entities with defined shapes and unique sequences recognizable by specific hybridization probes. To demonstrate the utility of our proteomics biomarker discovery technology, we applied it to a clinical study of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We identified two well known CKD biomarkers as well as an additional 58 potential CKD biomarkers. These results demonstrate the potential utility of our technology to discover unique protein signatures characteristic of various disease states. More generally, we describe a versatile and powerful tool that allows large-scale comparison of proteome profiles among discrete populations. This unbiased and highly multiplexed search engine will enable the discovery of novel biomarkers in a manner that is unencumbered by our incomplete knowledge of biology, thereby helping to advance the next generation of evidence-based medicine

A relationship between reduced nucleus accumbens shell and enhanced lateral hypothalamic orexin neuronal activation in long-term fructose bingeing behavior.

Fructose accounts for 10% of daily calories in the American diet. Fructose, but not glucose, given intracerebroventricularly stimulates homeostatic feeding mechanisms within the hypothalamus; however, little is known about how fructose affects hedonic feeding centers. Repeated ingestion of sucrose, a disaccharide of fructose and glucose, increases neuronal activity in hedonic centers, the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell and core, but not the hypothalamus. Rats given glucose in the intermittent access model (IAM) display signatures of hedonic feeding including bingeing and altered DA receptor (R) numbers within the NAc. Here we examined whether substituting fructose for glucose in this IAM produces bingeing behavior, alters DA Rs and activates hedonic and homeostatic feeding centers. Following long-term (21-day) exposure to the IAM, rats given 8-12% fructose solutions displayed fructose bingeing but unaltered DA D1R or D2R number. Fructose bingeing rats, as compared to chow bingeing controls, exhibited reduced NAc shell neuron activation, as determined by c-Fos-immunoreactivity (Fos-IR). This activation was negatively correlated with orexin (Orx) neuron activation in the lateral hypothalamus/perifornical area (LH/PeF), a brain region linking homeostatic to hedonic feeding centers. Following short-term (2-day) access to the IAM, rats exhibited bingeing but unchanged Fos-IR, suggesting only long-term fructose bingeing increases Orx release. In long-term fructose bingeing rats, pretreatment with the Ox1R antagonist SB-334867 (30 mg/kg; i.p.) equally reduced fructose bingeing and chow intake, resulting in a 50% reduction in calories. Similarly, in control rats, SB-334867 reduced chow/caloric intake by 60%. Thus, in the IAM, Ox1Rs appear to regulate feeding based on caloric content rather than palatability. Overall, our results, in combination with the literature, suggest individual monosaccharides activate distinct neuronal circuits to promote feeding behavior. Specifically, long-term fructose bingeing activates a hyperphagic circuit composed in part of NAc shell and LH/PeF Orx neurons

Beta-Galactosidase Staining in the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract of Fos-Tau-LacZ Mice Is Unaffected by Monosodium Glutamate Taste Stimulation

<div><p>Fos-Tau-LacZ (FTL) transgenic mice are used to visualize the anatomical connectivity of neurons that express c-Fos, an immediate early gene, in response to activation. In contrast to typical c-Fos protein expression, which is localized to the nucleus of stimulated neurons, activation of the c-Fos gene results in beta galactosidase (β-gal) expression throughout the entire cytoplasm of activated cells in FTL mice; thereby making it possible to discern the morphology of c-Fos expressing cells. This can be an especially important tool in brain areas in which function may be related to cell morphology, such as the primary taste/viscerosensory brainstem nucleus of the solitary tract (nTS). Thus, to further characterize FTL activity in the brain, the current study quantified both β-gal enzymatic activity as well as c-Fos protein expression in the nTS under a variety of experimental conditions (no stimulation, no stimulation with prior overnight food and water restriction, monosodium glutamate taste stimulation, and monosodium glutamate taste stimulation with perfusion 5 h post stimulation). Contrary to previous research, we found that β-gal activity (both labeled cell bodies and overall number of labeled pixels) was unchanged across all experimental conditions. However, traditional c-Fos protein activity (both cell bodies and number of activated pixels) varied significantly across experimental conditions, with the greatest amount of c-Fos protein label found in the group that received monosodium glutamate taste stimulation. Interestingly, although many c-Fos positive cells were also β-gal positive in the taste stimulated group, some c-Fos protein labeled cells were not co-labeled with β-gal. Together, these data suggest that β-gal staining within the nTS reflects a stable population of β-gal- positive neurons whose pattern of expression is unaffected by experimental condition.</p></div

β – galactosidase staining is found throughout the brainstem, but is especially dense within the nTS and hypoglossal nucleus.

<p><b>Left</b>: Three rostrocaudal nTS levels designated as Rostral, Intermediate, and Caudal. Coordinates from Bregma are listed for each nTS level. Numbers in parenthesis represent coordinates relative to the rostral-most (i.e. ‘r1’) portion of the nTS as defined previously <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0107238#pone.0107238-Stratford1" target="_blank">[17]</a>. AP: area postrema, CC: central canal, ECu: external cuneate nucleus, icp: inferior peduncle, nTS: nucleus of the solitary tract, py: pyramidal tract, sp5: spinal trigeminal tract, Sp5n: spinal trigeminal nucleus, T: solitary tract, 4V: 4th ventricle, 10n: dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, 12n: hypoglossal nucleus. Images modified from Paxinos The Mouse Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates, 2nd Edition. <b>Right</b>: Photomicrographs of fluorescent β – galactosidase staining in the brainstem of a FTL mouse that received no stimulation (Unstim) Images converted to greyscale colors for clarity.</p

β – galactosidase staining is similar across experimental conditions; whereas c-Fos protein label varies significantly.

<p><b>Left</b>: β-gal staining (green) is not different across all experimental groups. <b>Middle</b>: Significant c-Fos staining (magenta) is present only in the MSG group. However, punctate c-Fos staining (red arrow) is found in all other groups. Moreover, c-Fos protein staining is found in the cellular processes of some c-Fos labeled cells in the MSG group (inset). <b>Right</b>: A significant proportion of doubled labeled c-Fos/β-gal cells (white label and left most yellow arrow) is found in the MSG group. Interestingly, we observed some c-Fos positive cells that were not co-labeled with β-gal (middle yellow arrow) as well as some β-gal positive cells that did not co-localize with the c-Fos protein (right yellow arrow). Sections shown are of the ‘Rostral’ representative level.</p

Bar graphs summarizing all quantative measurements across experimental conditions.

<p><b>A</b>: The number of β-gal positive cells (green) was not different within each nTS level (Rostral, Intermediate, Caudal), nor between stimulation groups (Unstim, No Food/Water, MSG, MSG 5 h Post, p = 0.25). Interestingly, the number of β-gal positive cells, irrespective of group, was significantly different between nTS levels (Rostral>Intermediate>Caudal; all p's>0.05, data not shown). <b>B</b>: In contrast to the number of β-gal positive cells, the number of c-Fos positive cells (Fos-LI; magenta) was significantly different between groups, with Fos-LI in the MSG group greater than all other groups. Also, within the nTS of the MSG group, Fos-LI was significantly different between nTS levels (Intermediate (Intermed.)>Rostral>Caudal). <b>C</b>: The number of c-Fos/β-gal double labeled cells matched the Fos-LI results seen in <i>C</i>, with the number of double labeled cells significantly greater in the MSG group as compared to all other groups. Also, the number of double labeled cells was significantly greater in the Rostral level of the nTS in the MSG group compared to both the Intermed. and Caudal groups. <b>D</b>: The number of β-gal (green) labeled pixels that exceeded threshold (which includes both cell bodies and cellular processes) was not statistically different between groups (p = 0.36). However, the number of c-Fos labeled pixels (magenta) was significantly greater in the MSG group as compared to all other groups. In all figures: n.s. = not statistically significantly different; * = a significant difference between the MSG group vs. all other groups; # = a significant different between nTS levels within the MSG group. All p's<0.05.</p