Effects of Osteopathic Visceral Treatment in Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Osteopathic manual treatment has been recommended as a non-pharmacological therapy for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). However, to date, no study has supported the effectiveness of this intervention with respect to the symptoms of the disease. Our goal was to assess the effect of an osteopathic manual technique for the lower esophageal sphincter on GERD symptoms, cervical mobility and on the C4 spinous process pressure pain threshold (PPTs). Methods: A randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial was performed. Sixty subjects suffering from GERD participated in this study and were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (EG) (n = 29), who received the osteopathic technique for the lower esophageal sphincter, or to a control group (CG) (n = 31), who received a manual contact, which mimicked the osteopathic technique without exerting any therapeutic force. Randomization was computer-generated, with allocation concealed by sequentially numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes. The GerdQ questionnaire was used to assess symptom changes the week after intervention. Cervical Range of Motion (CROM) and algometer were used to evaluate cervical mobility and PPTs before and after both treatments. Before-after between groups comparison (t-test) was used for statistical analysis of the outcome, with two measurement points (GerdQ), while repeated-measures ANOVA was used for those outcomes with four measurement points (CROM and PPT). Results: The application of the osteopathic manual treatment in subjects with GERD produced a significant improvement in symptoms one week after the intervention (p = 0.005) with a between-groups difference of 1.49 points in GerdQ score (95% CI: 0.47-2.49). PPT C4 improved in the EG after the treatment (p = 0.034; eta(2) = 0.048) (between-groups difference 8.78 Newton/cm(2); 95% CI: 0.48-17.09). CROM also increased in the EG compared to the CG (p < 0.001; eta(2) = 0.108) (between-groups difference 33.89 degrees; 95% CI: 15.17-52.61). Conclusions: The manual osteopathic technique produces an improvement in GERD symptoms one week after treatment, cervical mobility, and PPTs. This may mean that osteopathic treatment is useful for improving symptoms of GERD

Engineering provitamin A synthesis pathway with β-carotene metabolism in rice endosperm of a restorer line BR827R

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a serious public health problem in South Asia particularly in Bangladesh. Indica rice as a major staple in the country completely lacks vitamin A or compounds with provitamin A activity after milling. A combination of transgenes has been introduced enabling biosynthesis of provitamin A in the endosperm of a restorer line using biolistic system of transformation. The rice seed-specific glutelin promoter (Gt-1 P) was used to drive the expression of phytone synthase (psy), while lycopene b-cyclase (lcy) and phytoenedesaturase (crtI), fused to the transit peptide sequence of the pea-Rubisco small subunit, were driven by the constitutive cauliflower mosaic virus promoter (CaMV35s P). Transgenic plants were recovered through selection with CaMV35sP driven hph (hygromycinphosphotransferase) gene. Molecular analysis demonstrated stable integration and expression of the transgenes. The variable segregation pattern in T1 generation indicated single to multiple insertions of the transgenes in the genome. This is the first report of the development of a transgenic restorer line with carotenogenic pathway into the endosperm for use of hybrid rice improvement

Digital breast tomosynthesis: A state of the art review

Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) is an X-ray mammography technique where multiple low-dose projection images of the breast are reconstructed in multiple tomographic images creating a semi-3D mammogram. This enables the visualization of a sequential set of thin sections of the breast, overcoming the masking effect of overlying fibroglandular breast tissue, then improving carcinoma detection and reducing false-positive cases. This review aims at describing current DBT technique, analyzing DBT in clinical practice and providing an overview of published studies on clinical experience with DBT in the screening and diagnostic settings

Analysis of a spatial Lotka-Volterra model with a finite range predator-prey interaction

We perform an analysis of a recent spatial version of the classical Lotka-Volterra model, where a finite scale controls individuals' interaction. We study the behavior of the predator-prey dynamics in physical spaces higher than one, showing how spatial patterns can emerge for some values of the interaction range and of the diffusion parameter.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Optimization of worm-bed leachate for culturing of tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) inoculated with Glomus fasciculatum and Pseudomonas fluorescens

A response surface technique was used to analyze the effect of Glomus fasciculatum , Pseudomonas fluorescens and worm-bed leachate (WBL) on growth, yield and characteristics of tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill). The treatments combined inoculation with or without P. fluorescens or G. fasciculatum and the application of WBL at 20% (v/v) each day or every three days. Plant height, number of leaves and yield of tomato fruits was not affected by the factors studied. However, plants with foliar application of WBL each day developed wider stems than those with an application every three days. The pH of the fruits was lower when WBL was applied every three days compared to a daily application. The soluble solids content of the fruits was higher when WBL was applied daily compared to those sprayed every three days. Plant development was not affected by addition of P. fluorescens, G. fasciculatum or WBL, but WBL changed fruit characteristics

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): testing galaxy formation models through the most massive galaxies in the Universe

We have analysed the growth of Brightest Group Galaxies and Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BGGs/BCGs) over the last 3 billion years using a large sample of 883 galaxies from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey. By comparing the stellar mass of BGGs and BCGs in groups and clusters of similar dynamical masses, we find no significant growth between redshift z = 0.27 and 0.09. We also examine the number of BGGs/BCGs that have line emission, finding that approximately 65 per cent of BGGs/BCGs show Hα in emission. From the galaxies where the necessary spectroscopic lines were accurately recovered (54 per cent of the sample), we find that half of this (i.e. 27 per cent of the sample) harbour ongoing star formation with rates up to 10 M⊙ yr−1, and the other half (i.e. 27 per cent of the sample) have an active nucleus (AGN) at the centre. BGGs are more likely to have ongoing star formation, while BCGs show a higher fraction of AGN activity. By examining the position of the BGGs/BCGs with respect to their host dark matter halo, we find that around 13 per cent of them do not lie at the centre of the dark matter halo. This could be an indicator of recent cluster–cluster mergers. We conclude that BGGs and BCGs acquired their stellar mass rapidly at higher redshifts as predicted by semi-analytic models, mildly slowing down at low redshifts

Atmospheric effects on extensive air showers observed with the Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Atmospheric parameters, such as pressure (P), temperature (T) and density, affect the development of extensive air showers initiated by energetic cosmic rays. We have studied the impact of atmospheric variations on extensive air showers by means of the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The rate of events shows a ~10% seasonal modulation and ~2% diurnal one. We find that the observed behaviour is explained by a model including the effects associated with the variations of pressure and density. The former affects the longitudinal development of air showers while the latter influences the Moliere radius and hence the lateral distribution of the shower particles. The model is validated with full simulations of extensive air showers using atmospheric profiles measured at the site of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic