Self-perceived Well-being Among Doctor of Physical Therapy Students in the United States

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to describe self-perceived well-being among Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore factors associated with well-being. Methods: This observational study was cross-sectional, using an anonymous, self-administered, nationwide survey. The survey included questions about an array of factors theoretically related to well-being, and incorporated the WHO-5 Well-being Index, the Perceived Stress Scale-10, and the Brief Resiliency Scale. Results: A total of 1,542 responded to the survey. Data from 1,537 DPT students in the U.S. were included in the analysis. Well-being was positively correlated with resilience (r = 0.457; p \u3c 0.001), male gender (p \u3c 0.001), heterosexuality (p = 0.022), being married (p = 0.004) or living with a partner or spouse (p = 0.036), and being physical active (p \u3c 0.001). Well-being was negatively correlated with higher perceived stress (r = -0.686; p \u3c 0.001), the number of friends or family who died for non-COVID reasons during the prior year (p = 0.005), food insecurity (p \u3c 0.001), having chronic pain (p \u3c 0.001), more days absent from school (p = 0.021), and being a first-generation college student (p = 0.007). Surprisingly, COVID-19 infection status and having at least one close friend or relative die of COVID-19 were not correlated with self-perceived wellness. Regression modeling using individual factors found that being male (p \u3c 0.001), married (p = 0.046), and physically active (p \u3c 0.001) were positive predictors of well-being, while having food insecurity (p \u3c 0.001) and chronic pain (p \u3c 0.001) were negative predictors. Conclusion: Among DPT students in the U.S., self-perceived well-being is negatively correlated with higher perceived stress; while concurrently being positively correlated with resilience. Well-being is partially predicted by modifiable factors including physical activity, chronic pain and food insecurity. Our findings deepen the understanding of DPT students’ well-being and can help inform the services and resources provided by colleges and universities to better address modifiable factors that are predictive of well-being among DPT students

Antonio Altarriba’s El ala rota: remembering a woman hidden in ‘the back room of history’

This paper examines Antonio Altarriba’s presentation of his deceased mother’s life-story in the graphic novel El ala rota (2016) claiming that the author’s personal trauma of mourning reveals the collective trauma of non-politically-engaged Spanish women throughout Spain’s 20th century. El ala rota contributes to the recovery of a new kind of memory by paying homage to a woman who was relegated to the private sphere and who herself believed her stories were not worth telling – a woman who was in the back room of history and lacked the means and mechanism to chronicle her life. The paper demonstrates that, not only does the content of El ala rota give voice to those who did not have one, thus philosophically paralleling the aims of the Recovery of Historical Memory and the exhumations of mass graves in Spain, but also, that its specific form of comics calls attention to the way society engages with the recovery of historical and collective memory specifically with regard to gender

Effectiveness of dry needling on reducing pain intensity in patients with myofascial pain syndrome: a Meta-analysis

AbstractObjectiveTo summarize the literature about the effectiveness of dry needling (DN) on relieving pain and increasing range of motion (ROM) in individuals with myofascial pain syndrome (MPS).MethodsPapers published from January 2000 to January 2013 were identified through an electronic search in the databases MEDLINE, Dialnet, Cochrane Library Plus, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) and Spanish Superior Council of Scientific Research (CSIC). The studies included were randomized controlled trials written in English and/or Spanish about the effectiveness of DN on pain and ROM in individuals with MPS.ResultsOut of 19 clinical trials that were potentially relevant, a total of 10 were included in the Meta-analysis. Regarding pain intensity reduction when measured before and immediately after the intervention, DN achieved improvement compared with the placebo treatment [d = − 0.49; 95% CI (− 3.21, 0.42)] and with the control group [d = − 9.13; 95% CI (− 14.70, − 3.56)]. However, other treatments achieved better results on the same variable compared with DN, considering the measurements for pre-treatment and immediately after [d = 2.54; 95% CI (− 0.40, 5.48)], as well as the pre-treatment and after 3-4 weeks [d = 4.23; 95% CI (0.78, 7.68)]. DN showed a significantly increased ROM when measured before the intervention and immediately after, in comparison with the placebo [d = 2.00; 95% CI (1.60, 2.41)]. However, other treatments achieved a significant better result regarding ROM when it was measured before the intervention and immediately after, as compared with DN [d = −1.42; 95% CI (− 1.84, − 0.99)].ConclusionDN was less effective on decreasing pain comparing to the placebo group. Other treatments were more effective than DN on reducing pain after 3-4 weeks. However, on increasing ROM, DN was more effective comparing to that of placebo group, but less than other treatments

Exceptionally rapid oxime and hydrazone formation promoted by catalytic amine buffers with low toxicity

Hydrazone and oxime bond formation between α-nucleophiles (e.g. hydrazines, alkoxy-amines) and carbonyl compounds (aldehydes and ketones) is convenient and is widely applied in multiple fields of research. While the reactants are simple, a substantial drawback is the relatively slow reaction at neutral pH. Here we describe a novel molecular strategy for accelerating these reactions, using bifunctional buffer compounds that not only control pH but also catalyze the reaction. The buffers can be employed at pH 5-9 (5-50 mM) and accelerate reactions by several orders of magnitude, yielding second-order rate constants of >10 M-1s-1. Effective bifunctional amines include 2-(aminomethyl)imidazoles and N,N-dimethylethylenediamine. Unlike previous diaminobenzene catalysts, the new buffer amines are found to have low toxicity to human cells, and can be used to promote reactions in cellular applications

Fascicles and the interfascicular matrix show decreased fatigue life with ageing in energy storing tendons

Tendon is composed of rope-like fascicles bound together by interfascicular matrix (IFM). The IFM is critical for the function of energy storing tendons, facilitating sliding between fascicles to allow these tendons to cyclically stretch and recoil. This capacity is required to a lesser degree in positional tendons. We have previously demonstrated that both fascicles and IFM in energy storing tendons have superior fatigue resistance compared with positional tendons, but the effect of ageing on the fatigue properties of these different tendon subunits has not been determined. Energy storing tendons become more injury-prone with ageing, indicating reduced fatigue resistance, hence we tested the hypothesis that the decline in fatigue life with ageing in energy storing tendons would be more pronounced in the IFM than in fascicles. We further hypothesised that tendon subunit fatigue resistance would not alter with ageing in positional tendons. Fascicles and IFM from young and old energy storing and positional tendons were subjected to cyclic fatigue testing until failure, and mechanical properties were calculated. The results show that both IFM and fascicles from the SDFT exhibit a similar magnitude of reduced fatigue life with ageing. By contrast, the fatigue life of positional tendon subunits was unaffected by ageing. The age-related decline in fatigue life of tendon subunits in energy storing tendons is likely to contribute to the increased risk of injury in aged tendons. Full understanding of the mechanisms resulting in this reduced fatigue life will aid in the development of treatments and interventions to prevent age-related tendinopathy

Texting with touchscreen and keypad phones - A comparison of thumb kinematics, upper limb muscle activity, exertion, discomfort, and performance

This study aimed to compare thumb kinematics and upper limb muscle activity, and the influence of hand size, when texting on a keypad smartphone and a touchscreen smartphone. Furthermore, the study compared exertion, discomfort, and performance when texting on the two phones. The thumb kinematics were tracked using a 3D motion analysis system and muscle activity was registered in six upper limb muscles using surface electromyography in 19 participants. When texting on the touchscreen phone compared to the keypad phone thumb flexion (p = 0.008) and flexion/extension range of motion were smaller (p = 0.02), the thumb was on average less internally rotated (p = 0.02), and activity (50th and 90th percentile) of the thumb and forearm muscles was lower (p = 0.05). The differences in thumb flexion were found only in the group with shorter hands and the differences in muscle activity was found only in the group with longer hands. These findings suggest there are differences in risks for developing musculoskeletal disorders during smartphone use with different key activation mechanisms and different hand sizes

Increased Serum and Musculotendinous Fibrogenic Proteins following Persistent Low-Grade Inflammation in a Rat Model of Long-Term Upper Extremity Overuse.

We examined the relationship between grip strength declines and muscle-tendon responses induced by long-term performance of a high-repetition, low-force (HRLF) reaching task in rats. We hypothesized that grip strength declines would correlate with inflammation, fibrosis and degradation in flexor digitorum muscles and tendons. Grip strength declined after training, and further in weeks 18 and 24, in reach limbs of HRLF rats. Flexor digitorum tissues of reach limbs showed low-grade increases in inflammatory cytokines: IL-1β after training and in week 18, IL-1α in week 18, TNF-α and IL-6 after training and in week 24, and IL-10 in week 24, with greater increases in tendons than muscles. Similar cytokine increases were detected in serum with HRLF: IL-1α and IL-10 in week 18, and TNF-α and IL-6 in week 24. Grip strength correlated inversely with IL-6 in muscles, tendons and serum, and TNF-α in muscles and serum. Four fibrogenic proteins, TGFB1, CTGF, PDGFab and PDGFbb, and hydroxyproline, a marker of collagen synthesis, increased in serum in HRLF weeks 18 or 24, concomitant with epitendon thickening, increased muscle and tendon TGFB1 and CTGF. A collagenolytic gelatinase, MMP2, increased by week 18 in serum, tendons and muscles of HRLF rats. Grip strength correlated inversely with TGFB1 in muscles, tendons and serum; with CTGF-immunoreactive fibroblasts in tendons; and with MMP2 in tendons and serum. Thus, motor declines correlated with low-grade systemic and musculotendinous inflammation throughout task performance, and increased fibrogenic and degradative proteins with prolonged task performance. Serum TNF-α, IL-6, TGFB1, CTGF and MMP2 may serve as serum biomarkers of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, although further studies in humans are needed

Visión hecha verbo: Palabra frente a imagen en la novela española de 1878 a 1925

En el presente estudio planteo un acercamiento a la novela española de fin del siglo XIX teniendo en cuenta su relación con las artes visuales. El desarrollo de la novela durante el período que va desde 1878 a 1925 coincide con una crisis de la representación marcada por una creciente desconfianza en la capacidad de las artes para representar la realidad objetiva. La crítica literaria tradicional indica que desde el Realismo decimonónico hasta el Modernismo de principios del XX, dicha crisis se traduce en una creciente falta de confianza en el poder representativo de la palabra, a la cual consideran insuficiente. Al analizar el uso de la ékfrasis en las novelas de este período, un recurso que relaciona las dos formas de expresión artística—palabra e imagen—, se revelan matices que difieren de las conclusiones tradicionales. La creciente “duda” que se siente con respecto a la capacidad representativa de la palabra en ese momento histórico hace que se establezca una cierta dinámica intertextual de tensión entre la palabra y las artes visuales en las novelas estudiadas. Dicha dinámica acaba afirmando el valor de la palabra en el apogeo de la crisis de la representación. Trazando la relación entre las artes visuales y la palabra, veo que se revela un desliz entre la percepción de la palabra a nivel extraliterario y la función de la palabra dentro de los textos estudiados. En las novelas realistas las artes visuales despempeñan un papel creador, que intenta suplementar a la palabra, de la cual se desconfía. En las novelas de transición, las artes visuales empiezan a cobrar un valor destructivo, pero en último instante siguen desempeñando un papel creador. Finalmente, en las novelas modernistas, la palabra es el medio que cobra el papel destructivo y destruye en concreto lo visual, mostrando así una vuelta a la confianza en la palabra. En conclusión, la dinámica entre palabra e imagen muestra que ni los realistas demuestran tanta confianza en la palabra como se les suele atribuir, ni los modernistas demuestran tanta desconfianza en la dicción. Un análisis de la ékfrasis en estas obras permite entender la inversión de las conclusiones de la crítica tradicional, en un proceso que, al partir del estudio de autores y obras canónicas, tiene un valor sistemático y explicativo