Upper limb muscle strength and knee frontal plane projection angle asymmetries in female water-polo players

Water-polo players frequently perform overhead throws that could result in shoulder imbalances. For overhead throws, execution of the ‘eggbeater kick’ (cyclical movement of the legs) is required to lift the body out of the water. Although a symmetrical action, inter-limb differences in task execution could lead to knee frontal plane projection (FPPA) differences. The present study examined imbalances shoulder and knee FPPA in female players. Eighteen competitive female field players (24.1 ± 5.5 years, 1.68 ± 0.06 m, 72.9 ± 13.3 kg) had their shoulder strength assessed in a shot-mimicking position with a portable dynamometer, standing and seated (isolating the shoulder contribution). Anterior: posterior and shooting: non-shooting shoulder comparison were made. Additionally, players performed a drop jump. Knee FPPA was recorded from digitising and comparing the frames just before landing and at stance phase. During standing, players exhibited higher shooting: non-shooting asymmetry (p = 0.032) in the anterior contraction direction, while during seated the shooting shoulder anterior: posterior asymmetry was higher (p = 0.032). Interlimb knee FPPA asymmetry was higher in the stance phase (p = 0.02). Despite the overhead throwing and egg-beater demands impacting differently on each limb, considerable asymmetries do not develop, suggesting the overall training requirements (e.g. swimming, resistance training) were sufficient to maintain the asymmetry within desirable limits

Monitoring telehealth vomiting calls as a potential public health early warning system for seasonal norovirus activity in Ontario, Canada.

Norovirus is a predominant cause of infectious gastroenteritis in countries worldwide [1-5]. It accounts for approximately 50% of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and >90% of viral gastroenteritis outbreaks [6, 7]. The incubation period ranges between 10 and 48 h and illness duration is generally 1-3 days with self-limiting symptoms; however, this duration is often longer (e.g. 4-6 days) in vulnerable populations such as hospital patients or young children [2, 8]. Symptomatic infection of norovirus presents as acute vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and nausea, with severe vomiting and diarrhoea (non-bloody) being most common [2, 5, 9]

Spectral quantification of nonlinear behaviour of the nearshore seabed and correlations with potential forcings at Duck, N.C., U.S.A

Local bathymetric quasi-periodic patterns of oscillation are identified from monthly profile surveys taken at two shore-perpendicular transects at the USACE field research facility in Duck, North Carolina, USA, spanning 24.5 years and covering the swash and surf zones. The chosen transects are the two furthest (north and south) from the pier located at the study site. Research at Duck has traditionally focused on one or more of these transects as the effects of the pier are least at these locations. The patterns are identified using singular spectrum analysis (SSA). Possible correlations with potential forcing mechanisms are discussed by 1) doing an SSA with same parameter settings to independently identify the quasi-periodic cycles embedded within three potentially linked sequences: monthly wave heights (MWH), monthly mean water levels (MWL) and the large scale atmospheric index known as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and 2) comparing the patterns within MWH, MWL and NAO to the local bathymetric patterns. The results agree well with previous patterns identified using wavelets and confirm the highly nonstationary behaviour of beach levels at Duck; the discussion of potential correlations with hydrodynamic and atmospheric phenomena is a new contribution. The study is then extended to all measured bathymetric profiles, covering an area of 1100m (alongshore) by 440m (cross-shore), to 1) analyse linear correlations between the bathymetry and the potential forcings using multivariate empirical orthogonal functions (MEOF) and linear correlation analysis and 2) identify which collective quasi-periodic bathymetric patterns are correlated with those within MWH, MWL or NAO, based on a (nonlinear) multichannel singular spectrum analysis (MSSA). (...continued in submitted paper)Comment: 50 pages, 3 tables, 8 figure

Drinking behaviour and alcohol-related harm amongst older adults: analysis of existing UK datasets.

Older adults experience age-related physiological changes that increase sensitivity and decrease tolerance to alcohol and there are a number of age-related harms such as falls, social isolation and elder abuse, which are compounded by alcohol misuse. Despite this unique vulnerability and the fact that the number of older adults is increasing, the literature on drinking behaviour and alcohol-related harm in older adults is sparse. This article describes a secondary analysis of UK data to address this knowledge gap

The clinical features of the piriformis syndrome: a systematic review

Piriformis syndrome, sciatica caused by compression of the sciatic nerve by the piriformis muscle, has been described for over 70 years; yet, it remains controversial. The literature consists mainly of case series and narrative reviews. The objectives of the study were: first, to make the best use of existing evidence to estimate the frequencies of clinical features in patients reported to have PS; second, to identify future research questions. A systematic review was conducted of any study type that reported extractable data relevant to diagnosis. The search included all studies up to 1 March 2008 in four databases: AMED, CINAHL, Embase and Medline. Screening, data extraction and analysis were all performed independently by two reviewers. A total of 55 studies were included: 51 individual and 3 aggregated data studies, and 1 combined study. The most common features found were: buttock pain, external tenderness over the greater sciatic notch, aggravation of the pain through sitting and augmentation of the pain with manoeuvres that increase piriformis muscle tension. Future research could start with comparing the frequencies of these features in sciatica patients with and without disc herniation or spinal stenosis

The significance of the time interval between antecedent pregnancy and diagnosis of high-risk gestational trophoblastic tumours

It is thought that the time interval between the antecedent pregnancy and diagnosis of gestational trophoblastic tumours (GTTs) may influence the outcome of these patients. In this study, we investigate the significance of this time interval. Multivariate analysis was used to investigate if the time interval was of prognostic significance from our cohort of 241 high-risk patients with GTT. Subsequent cutpoint analysis was used to determine an optimal cutpoint for the interval covariate. The outcome of these patients was plotted according to the Kaplan–Meier method. The time interval was of prognostic significance on multivariate analysis. A period of greater than 2.8 years after pregnancy was found to be of most significance. The 5-year overall survival was 62.0% (95% CI: 47–76%) for greater than 2.8 years vs 94% (95% CI: 91–97%) for less than 2.8 years (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis showed the presence of liver metastasis and the number of metastasis was also of prognostic importance. The interval between antecedent pregnancy and diagnosis in high-risk GTT is of prognostic significance. This gives some insight into the pathogenesis of the disease

Cover to Volume 3

The fibroblast mitogen platelet-derived growth factor -BB (PDGF-BB) induces a transient expression of the orphan nuclear receptor NR4A1 (also named Nur77, TR3 or NGFIB). The aim of the present study was to investigate the pathways through which NR4A1 is induced by PDGF-BB and its functional role. We demonstrate that in PDGF-BB stimulated NIH3T3 cells, the MEK1/2 inhibitor CI-1040 strongly represses NR4A1 expression, whereas Erk5 downregulation delays the expression, but does not block it. Moreover, we report that treatment with the NF-κB inhibitor BAY11-7082 suppresses NR4A1 mRNA and protein expression. The majority of NR4A1 in NIH3T3 was found to be localized in the cytoplasm and only a fraction was translocated to the nucleus after continued PDGF-BB treatment. Silencing NR4A1 slightly increased the proliferation rate of NIH3T3 cells; however, it did not affect the chemotactic or survival abilities conferred by PDGF-BB. Moreover, overexpression of NR4A1 promoted anchorage-independent growth of NIH3T3 cells and the glioblastoma cell lines U-105MG and U-251MG. Thus, whereas NR4A1, induced by PDGF-BB, suppresses cell growth on a solid surface, it increases anchorage-independent growth

The conserved C-terminus of the PcrA/UvrD helicase interacts directly with RNA polymerase

Copyright: © 2013 Gwynn et al. 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. Funding: This work was supported by a Wellcome Trust project grant to MD (Reference: 077368), an ERC starting grant to MD (Acronym: SM-DNA-REPAIR) and a BBSRC project grant to PM, NS and MD (Reference: BB/I003142/1). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Vitamin B12 bioaccumulation in Chlorella vulgaris grown on food waste-derived anaerobic digestate

Anaerobic digestion plays a pivotal role in the modern circular economy, as it offers a sustainable solution for converting organic waste into biogas (methane). It also results in a nutrient-rich liquid stream, referred to as digestate. This digestate is extensively applied to agricultural land as fertilizer due to its high macronutrient (N, P) content, but the bioactive micronutrients it contains and their significance for downstream applications remain largely unknown. Here, we investigate whether digestate generated from a vitamin B12-deficient substrate (fruit and vegetable waste) can be enriched in this vitamin through anaerobic digestion, and explore the capability of the microalga Chlorella vulgaris to grow in this medium and bioaccumulate B12. Our findings uncover, for the first time, that substantial amounts of B12 are synthesized during anaerobic digestion, and that C. vulgaris can effectively be enriched with this vitamin when grown in the digestate (10.6 μg Β12·g−1 dry weight). Additionally, we identified that pH-induced ammonia toxicity was the main inhibitor when growing microalgae in the digestate, which allowed us to significantly enhance productivity at lab- and pilot-scale through pH control. The case of B12 synthesis in digestate and accumulation in microalgae highlights the potential for enhancing the value of these waste streams through the identification and utilization of bioactive compounds