Core Stabilization Exercise Prescription, Part I: Current Concepts in Assessment and Intervention

Context: Injury to the low back can cause significant pain and dysfunction, which can affect an athlete’s performance and result in time lost from sport. A common conservative treatment is therapeutic core stabilization exercises, which can address pain and musculoskeletal dysfunction in patients with low back pathology. Evidence Acquisition: MEDLINE and CINAHL were searched (from 1966 to March 2013) to identify relevant research. Keywords and keyword combinations searched included motor control exercise, segmental stabilization, core stabilization, transversus abdominis, multifidi, and low back pain. Results: There are 2 popular rehabilitation strategies to assess core function and promote core stabilization. Each has been developed based on biomechanical models of lumbar segmental stability and observed motor control dysfunction in patients with low back pain. Conclusion: Controversy exists among clinical and research groups as to the optimal strategy for an athlete with low back pain

Core Stabilization Exercise Prescription, Part 2: A Systematic Review of Motor Control and General (Global) Exercise Rehabilitation Approaches for Patients with Low Back Pain

Context: Therapeutic exercises are frequently prescribed to patients with low back pain. Numerous exercise programs for patients with low back pain have been described. Many of these treatment programs are based on 1 of 2 popular rehabilitation strategies: a motor control exercise approach or a general exercise approach. Data Sources: PubMed clinical queries from 1966 to March 2013 for keyword combinations including motor control exercise, core stability exercise, therapeutic exercise, general exercise, global exercise, local exercise, transversus abdominis, segmental stabilization, and low back pain. Study Selection: Randomized controlled trials that assessed the effects of a motor control exercise approach, a general exercise approach, or both for patients with low back pain that were published in scientific peer-reviewed journals. Data Extraction: Included studies underwent appraisal for exercise intervention and outcomes. Results: Fifteen studies were identified (8, motor control exercise approach without general exercise comparison; 7, general exercise approach with or without motor control exercise approach comparison). Current evidence suggests that exercise interventions may be effective at reducing pain or disability in patients with low back pain. Conclusion: Stabilization exercises for patients with low back pain may help to decrease pain and disability. It may not be necessary to prescribe exercises purported to restore motor control of specific muscles

Mining structural signatures in proteins using intrachain interactions.

In this work we use a data mining approach to analyze similarity of proteins and to extract conserved information on dissimilar sequences of proteins of the same family.X-meeting 2007

Assessing Microbial Community Patterns During Incipient Soil Formation From Basalt

Microbial dynamics drive the biotic machinery of early soil evolution. However, integrated knowledge of microbial community establishment, functional associations, and community assembly processes in incipient soil is lacking. This study presents a novel approach of combining microbial phylogenetic profiling, functional predictions, and community assembly processes to analyze drivers of microbial community establishment in an emerging soil system. Rigorous submeter sampling of a basalt-soil lysimeter after 2 years of irrigation revealed that microbial community colonization patterns and associated soil parameters were depth dependent. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated the presence of diverse bacterial and archaeal phyla, with high relative abundance of Actinomyceles on the surface and a consistently high abundance of Proteobacteria (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta) at all depths. Despite depth-dependent variation in community diversity, predicted functional gene analysis suggested that microbial metabolisms did not differ with depth, thereby suggesting redundancy in functional potential throughout the system. Null modeling revealed that microbial community assembly patterns were predominantly governed by variable selection. The relative influence of variable selection decreased with depth, indicating unique and relatively harsh environmental conditions near the surface and more benign conditions with depth. Additionally, community composition near the center of the domain was influenced by high levels of dispersal, suggesting that spatial processes interact with deterministic selection imposed by the environment. These results suggest that for oligotrophic systems, there are major differences in the length scales of variation between vertical and horizontal dimensions with the vertical dimension dominating variation in physical, chemical, and biological features.NSF [EAR-1344552, EAR-1340912, EAR-1417097]; Philecology Foundation of Fort Worth Texas; Water, Environmental, and Energy Solutions (WEES) initiative at the University of Arizona; office of Research, Discovery and Innovation's Accelerate for Success Grant at the University of Arizona; U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER), as part of Subsurface Biogeochemical Research Program's Scientific Focus Area (SFA) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); DOE [DE-AC06-76RLO 1830]6 month embargo; first published 28 March 2019.This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Parametric hazard rate models for long-term sickness absence

PURPOSE: In research on the time to onset of sickness absence and the duration of sickness absence episodes, Cox proportional hazard models are in common use. However, parametric models are to be preferred when time in itself is considered as independent variable. This study compares parametric hazard rate models for the onset of long-term sickness absence and return to work. METHOD: Prospective cohort study on sickness absence with four follow-up years of 53,830 employees working in the private sector in the Netherlands. The time to onset of long-term (>6 weeks) sickness absence and return to work were modelled by parametric hazard rate models. RESULTS: The exponential parametric model with a constant hazard rate most accurately described the time to onset of long-term sickness absence. Gompertz-Makeham models with monotonically declining hazard rates best described return to work. CONCLUSIONS: Parametric models offer more possibilities than commonly used models for time-dependent processes as sickness absence and return to work. However, the advantages of parametric models above Cox models apply mainly for return to work and less for onset of long-term sickness absence

MOF-mediated synthesis of supported Fe-doped Pd nanoparticles under mild conditions for magnetically recoverable catalysis

Metal-organic framework (MOF)-driven synthesis is considered as a promising alternative for the development of new catalytic materials with well-designed active sites. This synthetic approach is used here to gradually transform a new bimetallic MOF, with Pd and Fe as the metal components, by the in situ generation of aniline under mild conditions. This methodology results in a compositionally homogeneous nanocomposite formed by Fe-doped Pd nanoparticles that, in turn, are supported on iron oxide-doped carbon. The nanocomposite has been fully characterized by several techniques such as IR and Raman spectroscopy, TEM, XPS, and XAS. The performance of this nanocomposite as an heterogeneous catalyst for hydrogenation of nitroarenes and nitrobenzene coupling with benzaldehyde has been evaluated, proving it to be an efficient and reusable catalyst

Numerical Analysis of an Intercity Bus Structure: A Simple Unifilar Model Proposal to Assess Frontal and Semifrontal Crash Scenarios

Abstract To improve the safety of the intercity bus structure against impact scenarios and to reduce the injuries and death in traffic accidents it is crucial in a country with continental dimensions like Brazil, where the road transport matrix is fundamental in the traffic of people and goods. In this context in the present article, a numerical model of an intercity bus was built with elastoplastic beam implemented in a commercial software Ls-Dyna. This model was submitted to different frontal and semi frontal impact crash scenarios. With this model were analyzed different accidents which happened in the Brazilian highways, it was also simulated a frontal impact test and the results obtained were compared with the experimental results. Finally two numerical approaches were compared, they are: a simple model made with lumped masses and non-linear springs series connected, and the elastoplastic beam model. The different comparisons carried out let us validate the intercity bus model created using elastoplastic beam elements and propose to use this model as an effective tool to search for more efficient bus structural configurations against impact scenarios