Wrist Immobilization: Does Elbow and Shoulder Overcompensation Occur When Performing Drinking and Hammering Tasks?

Wrist orthoses, which immobilize or reduce motion at the wrist, may cause difficulties in performing daily tasks as they may affect other nearby joints and muscles of the upper extremity. Previous studies have generally focused on compensatory shoulder movements, not elbow movements, when wearing wrist orthoses. The purpose this study was to determine whether wrist immobilization results in compensatory movements of both the elbow and shoulder. Specifically, this study examined joint movement of the elbow and shoulder joints when performing a drinking and hammering task while wearing a wrist orthosis. Informed consent was received from all participants prior to participation in this study. This study was approved by the Southwestern University Institutional Review Board for Human Research. A convenience sample of twenty healthy adults (21.1±1.0 yrs, 1.72±0.08 m, 68.5±10.6 kg) was recruited to participate in this study. Each participant performed both a drinking and hammering task with and without a wrist orthosis three times. Thus, each participant performed six drinking motions and six hammering motions. A Liberty D-ring static wrist splint and two twin-axis electro-goniometers were used. Compensatory movement was defined in terms of joint excursion, or the change in joint motion throughout the performance of the task. Two 2 x 2 (condition x joint) repeated measures analyses of variance were used to analyze differences in joint excursion of the elbow and shoulder joints during the two tasks for the orthosis condition (orthosis, no orthosis). There was not a significant interaction between joint movement and orthosis on joint excursion (F(1,19) = 2.13, p = 0.16, η² = 0.10) for the drinking task. There was also not a significant interaction between joint movement and orthosis on joint excursion for the hammering task (F(1,19) = 2.35, p = 0.14, η² = 0.11). These results indicate that movement of one joint together with the wearing of the orthosis did not have an effect on joint excursion of the other joint. The results of the study support the use of wrist orthosis as it found that wrist orthosis usage does not cause compensatory movements of the elbow and shoulder. The proper choice of an immobilization or supportive device must be determined by the therapist to better improve functionality

Understanding the Sequence-Dependence of DNA Groove Dimensions: Implications for DNA Interactions

BACKGROUND: The B-DNA major and minor groove dimensions are crucial for DNA-protein interactions. It has long been thought that the groove dimensions depend on the DNA sequence, however this relationship has remained elusive. Here, our aim is to elucidate how the DNA sequence intrinsically shapes the grooves. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The present study is based on the analysis of datasets of free and protein-bound DNA crystal structures, and from a compilation of NMR (31)P chemical shifts measured on free DNA in solution on a broad range of representative sequences. The (31)P chemical shifts can be interpreted in terms of the BI↔BII backbone conformations and dynamics. The grooves width and depth of free and protein-bound DNA are found to be clearly related to the BI/BII backbone conformational states. The DNA propensity to undergo BI↔BII backbone transitions is highly sequence-dependent and can be quantified at the dinucleotide level. This dual relationship, between DNA sequence and backbone behavior on one hand, and backbone behavior and groove dimensions on the other hand, allows to decipher the link between DNA sequence and groove dimensions. It also firmly establishes that proteins take advantage of the intrinsic DNA groove properties. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The study provides a general framework explaining how the DNA sequence shapes the groove dimensions in free and protein-bound DNA, with far-reaching implications for DNA-protein indirect readout in both specific and non specific interactions

The phosphate clamp: a small and independent motif for nucleic acid backbone recognition

The 1.7 Å X-ray crystal structure of the B-DNA dodecamer, [d(CGCGAATTCGCG)]2 (DDD)-bound non-covalently to a platinum(II) complex, [{Pt(NH3)3}2-µ-{trans-Pt(NH3)2(NH2(CH2)6NH2)2}](NO3)6 (1, TriplatinNC-A,) shows the trinuclear cation extended along the phosphate backbone and bridging the minor groove. The square planar tetra-am(m)ine Pt(II) units form bidentate N-O-N complexes with OP atoms, in a Phosphate Clamp motif. The geometry is conserved and the interaction prefers O2P over O1P atoms (frequency of interaction is O2P > O1P, base and sugar oxygens > N). The binding mode is very similar to that reported for the DDD and [{trans-Pt(NH3)2(NH2(CH2)6(NH3+)}2-µ-{trans-Pt(NH3)2(NH2(CH2)6NH2)2}](NO3)8 (3, TriplatinNC), which exhibits in vivo anti-tumour activity. In the present case, only three sets of Phosphate Clamps were found because one of the three Pt(II) coordination spheres was not clearly observed and was characterized as a bare Pt2+ ion. Based on the electron density, the relative occupancy of DDD and the sum of three Pt(II) atoms in the DDD-1 complex was 1:1.69, whereas the ratio for DDD-2 was 1:2.85, almost the mixing ratio in the crystallization drop. The high repetition and geometric regularity of the motif suggests that it can be developed as a modular nucleic acid binding device with general utility

Do wrist orthoses cause compensatory elbow and shoulder movements when performing drinking and hammering tasks?

Purpose - Wrist orthoses are used by occupational therapists to decrease pain, support weak muscles and protect tissues during healing. However, use of wrist orthoses has been observed to produce compensatory movements in other upper extremity joints. This paper aims to determine whether wearing wrist orthoses produced compensatory movements of the elbow in addition to the shoulder when performing drinking and hammering tasks. Design/methodology/approach - Two twin-axis electrogoniometers were positioned on the elbow and shoulder to track joint movement. The four conditions were drink with orthosis, hammer with orthosis, drink without orthosis and hammer without orthosis. Joint movement was defined as total angular excursion of the joint throughout the performance of the task. Separate 2 × 2 (joint × orthosis) repeated measures analyzes of variance (ANOVA) were used to evaluate differences in joint excursion of the elbow and shoulder joints between orthosis conditions for each task. Findings - Wearing a wrist orthosis did not change the amount of joint excursion compared to not wearing an orthosis during the drinking and hammering tasks. Originality/value - Findings suggest that wrist orthoses do not result in statistically significant changes in elbow and shoulder joint movements during simulated drinking and hammering tasks

Synthese und Handlungsempfehlungen

L'analyse globale (tab. 1) révèle qu'à quelques rares exceptions, la biodiversité s'est notablement appauvrie entre 1900 et 1990. Durant les vingt dernières années, le recul des effectifs de nombreuses espèces et l'érosion de la surface de certains habitats ont pu être ralentis. Dans de rares cas une évolution positive a même été constatée. Ces développements, encourageants en soi, ne se sont toutefois opérés qu'à partir d'un très faible niveau de biodiversité. Sur le Plateau suisse notamment, son état est très préoccupant.Dans l'ensemble, il n'a pas été possible d'enrayer le déclin de la biodiversité; nous n'avons pas encore touché le fond. Selon nos prévisions pour 2020 une tendance générale à la hausse, voire un véritable inversement de tendance, n'est pas possible dans les conditions actuelles (lois, instruments et mesures, respectivement mise en oeuvre de ces outils). La persistance de cet appauvrissement est notamment imputable à l'intensification de l'exploitation agricole des régions de montagne, à l'extension du milieu urbain et à l'accroissement des activités de tourisme et de loisir. A cela s'ajoutent de nouveaux facteurs de menace, tels que l'expansion des espèces invasives et les répercussions directes et indirectes des changements climatiques qui augmenteront encore la pression sur les espèces et les écosystèmes déjà menacés