Reliability of Shoulder Goniometric Measurements in Persons Who Are Elderly

The population of the United States is rapidly aging; this is exemplified by the cohort of Baby-Boomers who make up a large part of the population. This becomes relevant to physical therapists, as our clients will reflect this graying of America. There is a lack of research regarding normative values for shoulder range of motion (ROM) in the elderly population. Due to many different factors in the aging process, there may be a decline in ROM in elderly persons. Current normative values may not be applicable to this population. Two pilot studies were conducted measuring active and passive shoulder ROM in persons 60 years of age and older. Shoulder measurements included the following: flexion, extension, abduction, and internal and external rotation. Fifteen individuals participated in the first pilot study, twelve in the second, with a subset of nine individuals who participated in both studies. Upon completion of both pilot studies, the researchers were unable to establish intrarater reliability. The researchers then focused their attention to the factors that may affect reliability of goniometric measurements. There are many factors that can play a part in the reliability of the motion available at a particular joint and the subsequent measurement of that joint. Some of those factors include physiological effects of aging, participant effort, cognitive effects of aging, the use of substitution patterns of movement, and inconsistent and inaccurate measurements taken by physical therapy students

Determining the Contribution of Epidermal Cell Shape to Petal Wettability Using Isogenic Antirrhinum Lines

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

Evaluating the Skeletal Chemistry of Mytilus Californianus as a Temperature Proxy: Effects of Microenvironment and Ontogeny

Molluscan shell chemistry may provide an important archive of mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual range in temperature (MART), but such direct temperature interpretations may be confounded by biologic, metabolic, or kinetic factors. To explore this potential archive, we outplanted variously sized specimens of the common mussel Mytilus californianus at relatively low and high intertidal positions in San Diego, California, for 382 days with in situ recording of ambient temperature and periodic sampling of water chemistry. The prismatic calcite layer of eight variously sized specimens from each intertidal position were then serially microsampled and geochemically analyzed. Average intraspecimen delta(18)O values significantly covaried only with temperature, whereas Mg/Ca values showed a strong and significant positive correlation with growth rate. To assess intra-annual variations in shell chemistry as proxy for MART, each specimen\u27s delta(18)O record was ordinated in the time domain and compared to the predicted isotopic equilibrium [delta]18O values from environmental data. Observed specimen values were significantly correlated with predicted equilibrium values, but show 18O enrichments of 0.2 to 0.5 parts per thousand. In contrast, Mg/Ca values were poorly correlated with temperature due to significant positive relationships with growth rate and intertidal position. Within the extrapallial fluid, pH, carbonate solution chemistry, Rayleigh fractionation and/or an undetermined source of disequilibrium may cause [delta]18O values to deviate from predicted equilibrium precipitation for ambient seawater. Despite this consistent 18O enrichment, intraskeletal variations in [delta]18O values readily characterize the instrumental MAT and 5-95% MART values, making M. californianus a valuable source of information for paleoceanographic reconstructions

Optimizing the photoassociation of cold atoms by use of chirped laser pulses

Photoassociation of ultracold atoms induced by chirped picosecond pulses is analyzed in a non-perturbative treatment by following the wavepackets dynamics on the ground and excited surfaces. The initial state is described by a Boltzmann distribution of continuum scattering states. The chosen example is photoassociation of cesium atoms at temperature T=54 $\mu K$ from the $a^3 \Sigma_u^+(6s,6s)$ continuum to bound levels in the external well of the $0_g^-(6s+6p_{3/2})$ potential. We study how the modification of the pulse characteristics (carrier frequency, duration, linear chirp rate and intensity) can enhance the number of photoassociated molecules and suggest ways of optimizing the production of stable molecules.Comment: 40 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J.

Elizabeth Koch, oboe and John Warren, clarinet

Kennnesaw State University School of Music presents Faculty Recital: Elizabeth Koch, oboe and John Warren, clarinet.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1546/thumbnail.jp

A case study using 2019 pre-monsoon snow and stream chemistry in the Khumbu region, Nepal

This case study provides a framework for future monitoring and evidence for human source pollution in the Khumbu region, Nepal. We analyzed the chemical composition (major ions, major/trace elements, black carbon, and stable water isotopes) of pre-monsoon stream water (4300–5250 m) and snow (5200–6665 m) samples collected from Mt. Everest, Mt. Lobuche, and the Imja Valley during the 2019 pre-monsoon season, in addition to a shallow ice core recovered from the Khumbu Glacier (5300 m). In agreement with previous work, pre-monsoon aerosol deposition is dominated by dust originating from western sources and less frequently by transport from southerly air mass sources as demonstrated by evidence of one of the strongest recorded pre-monsoon events emanating from the Bay of Bengal, Cyclone Fani. Elevated concentrations of human-sourced metals (e.g., Pb, Bi, As) are found in surface snow and stream chemistry collected in the Khumbu region. As the most comprehensive case study of environmental chemistry in the Khumbu region, this research offers sufficient evidence for increased monitoring in this watershed and surrounding areas

Estimation of Radiation Dosimetry for 68Ga-HBED-CC (PSMA-11) in Patients with Suspected Recurrence of Prostate Cancer

Introduction This study was performed to estimate the human radiation dosimetry for [68Ga]Ga-HBED-CC (PSMA-11) (68Ga PSMA-11). Methods Under an RDRC-approved research protocol, we evaluated the biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of 68Ga PSMA-11 with serial PET imaging following intravenous administration to nine prostate cancer patients in whom clinical [11C]acetate PET/CT exams had been independently performed under Expanded Access IND 118,204. List-mode imaging was performed over the initial 0–10 min post-injection with the pelvis in the field-of-view. Whole-body images were acquired, pelvis-to-head, at 15, 60, and 90-min post-injection. Additional images of the pelvis were acquired at 40-min and 115-min, and voided urine collected from each subject at 48-min and 120-min post-injection. Radiation dosimetry estimates were calculated from these data using the OLINDA software package. Results Renal uptake was high and relatively invariant, ranging from 11% to 14% of the injected dose between 15 and 90-min post-injection. Radioactivity collected in the voided urine accounted for 14% of the injected dose over a period of 120-min. Lymph nodes and skeletal metastases suspicious for prostate cancer recurrence were detected in a greater number of patients using 68Ga PSMA-11 than using 11C-acetate. Conclusion Kidneys are the critical organ following 68Ga PSMA-11 administration, receiving an estimated dose of 0.413 mGy/MBq. Advances in knowledge and implications for patient care This study confirms that the kidneys will be the critical organ following intravenous administration of 68Ga PSMA-11, and provided data consistent with the expectation that 68Ga PSMA-11 will be superior to [11C]acetate for defining sites of recurrence in prostate cancer patients presenting with biochemical relapse