Shoulder posture and median nerve sliding

Background: Patients with upper limb pain often have a slumped sitting position and poorshoulder posture. Pain could be due to poor posture causing mechanical changes (stretch; localpressure) that in turn affect the function of major limb nerves (e.g. median nerve). This studyexamines (1) whether the individual components of slumped sitting (forward head position, trunkflexion and shoulder protraction) cause median nerve stretch and (2) whether shoulderprotraction restricts normal nerve movements.Methods: Longitudinal nerve movement was measured using frame-by-frame cross-correlationanalysis from high frequency ultrasound images during individual components of slumped sitting.The effects of protraction on nerve movement through the shoulder region were investigated byexamining nerve movement in the arm in response to contralateral neck side flexion.Results: Neither moving the head forward or trunk flexion caused significant movement of themedian nerve. In contrast, 4.3 mm of movement, adding 0.7% strain, occurred in the forearm duringshoulder protraction. A delay in movement at the start of protraction and straightening of thenerve trunk provided evidence of unloading with the shoulder flexed and elbow extended and thescapulothoracic joint in neutral. There was a 60% reduction in nerve movement in the arm duringcontralateral neck side flexion when the shoulder was protracted compared to scapulothoracicneutral.Conclusion: Slumped sitting is unlikely to increase nerve strain sufficient to cause changes tonerve function. However, shoulder protraction may place the median nerve at risk of injury, sincenerve movement is reduced through the shoulder region when the shoulder is protracted andother joints are moved. Both altered nerve dynamics in response to moving other joints and localchanges to blood supply may adversely affect nerve function and increase the risk of developingupper quadrant pain

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Tourniquetless Total Knee Arthroplasty With Modern Perioperative Protocols Decreases Pain and Opioid Consumption in Women

Background This study examined whether a modern total knee arthroplasty (TKA) protocol without a tourniquet results in less patient-reported pain and in-hospital opioid consumption compared to TKA with a tourniquet. Methods A retrospective study of 203 primary unilateral cemented TKAs consecutively performed with or without tourniquet was performed. Identical perioperative pain and blood loss protocols were used in all cases. In tourniquetless TKAs, the tourniquet was not inflated at any time, and sterile CO2 gas compression maximized cement interdigitation. Results After exclusions for scientific confounds, 184 TKAs (93 with tourniquet; 91 tourniquetless) were analyzed. Controlling for multiple covariates, females with a tourniquet reported significantly more pain (P = .002) and opioid consumption (P < .001) the first 24 hours after surgery compared to females without a tourniquet. There were no differences in pain (P = .192) or amount of opioids consumed (P = .203) among males with and without a tourniquet. Tourniquet use resulted in a significant reduction in blood loss for both females (P ≤ .040) and males (P ≤ .020), although the total blood savings of approximately 200 mL is of unknown clinical significance. Conclusion Avoiding tourniquet use during TKA for females may be a relatively risk-free adjunct to minimize opioid consumption during hospitalization. Further study is warranted to elucidate the factors accounting for different outcomes in females and males

Observation of ferromagnetism above 900 K in Cr-GaN and Cr-AlN

We report the observation of ferromagnetism at over 900K in Cr-GaN and Cr-AlN thin films. The saturation magnetization moments in our best films of Cr-GaN and Cr-AlN at low temperatures are 0.42 and 0.6 u_B/Cr atom, respectively, indicating that 14% and 20%, of the Cr atoms, respectively, are magnetically active. While Cr-AlN is highly resistive, Cr-GaN exhibits thermally activated conduction that follows the exponential law expected for variable range hopping between localized states. Hall measurements on a Cr-GaN sample indicate a mobility of 0.06 cm^2/V.s, which falls in the range characteristic of hopping conduction, and a free carrier density (1.4E20/cm^3), which is similar in magnitude to the measured magnetically-active Cr concentration (4.9E19/cm^3). A large negative magnetoresistance is attributed to scattering from loose spins associated with non-ferromagnetic impurities. The results indicate that ferromagnetism in Cr-GaN and Cr-AlN can be attributed to the double exchange mechanism as a result of hopping between near-midgap substitutional Cr impurity bands.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, submitted to AP

Photonic Quantum Logic with Narrowband Light from Single Atoms

Increasing control of single photons enables new applications of photonic quantum-enhanced technology and further experimental exploration of fundamental quantum phenomena. Here, we demonstrate quantum logic using narrow linewidth photons that are produced under nearly perfect quantum control from a single ^87Rb atom strongly coupled to a high-finesse cavity. We use a controlled- NOT gate integrated into a photonic chip to entangle these photons, and we observe non-classical correlations between events separated by periods exceeding the travel time across the chip by three orders of magnitude. This enables quantum technology that will use the properties of both narrowband single photon sources and integrated quantum photonics, such as networked quantum computing, narrow linewidth quantum enhanced sensing and atomic memories.Comment: 5 pates, 3 figure

Varenicline Reduces Alcohol Intake During Repeated Cycles of Alcohol Reaccess Following Deprivation in Alcohol-Preferring (P) Rats

Background Most alcoholics experience periods of voluntary alcohol abstinence or imposed alcohol deprivation followed by a return to alcohol drinking. This study examined whether varenicline (VAR) reduces alcohol intake during a return to drinking after periods of alcohol deprivation in rats selectively bred for high alcohol drinking (the alcohol preferring or “P” rats). Methods Alcohol-experienced P rats were given 24-hour access to food and water and scheduled access to alcohol (15% and 30% v/v) for 2 h/d. After 4 weeks, rats were deprived of alcohol for 2 weeks, followed by reaccess to alcohol for 2 weeks, and this pattern was repeated for a total of 3 cycles. Rats were fed either vehicle (VEH) or VAR, in doses of 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mg/kg BW, at 1 hour prior to onset of the daily alcohol reaccess period for the first 5 days of each of the 3 alcohol reaccess cycles. Results Low-dose VAR (0.5 mg/kg BW) reduced alcohol intake during the 5 days of drug treatment in alcohol reaccess cycles 1 and 2. Higher doses of VAR (1.0 mg/kg BW and 2.0 mg/kg BW) reduced alcohol intake during the 5 days of treatment in all 3 alcohol reaccess cycles. The decrease in alcohol intake disappeared with termination of VAR treatment in all alcohol reaccess cycles. Conclusions The results demonstrate that VAR decreases alcohol intake during multiple cycles of alcohol reaccess following alcohol deprivation in rats and suggests that it may prevent a return to heavy alcohol drinking during a lapse from alcohol abstinence in humans with alcohol use disorder

Association of A1C with cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome in Asian Indians with normal glucose tolerance.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the association of A1C with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, coronary artery disease (CAD), and metabolic syndrome in Asian Indians with normal glucose tolerance (NGT). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited subjects from phase III of the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study (CURES), an epidemiological study in a representative population of Chennai (formerly Madras) in South India, conducted between January 2003 and June 2004. Included were 1,644 subjects with NGT, i.e., fasting plasma glucose <100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/l) and 2-h postload plasma glucose <140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/l). A1C was measured using the Biorad Variant machine. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on modified Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. RESULTS: The mean +/- SD A1C value in the study cohort was 5.5 +/- 0.4%. A1C showed a significant association with BMI (beta = 0.017, P < 0.001), systolic (beta = 0.002, P = 0.028) and diastolic (beta = 0.202, P = 0.017) blood pressure, waist circumference (beta = 0.007, P < 0.001), serum cholesterol (beta = 0.002, P < 0.001), triglycerides (beta = 0.001, P < 0.001), LDL cholesterol (beta = 0.002, P < 0.001), fasting insulin (beta = 0.009, P < 0.001), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (beta = 0.047, P < 0.001) after adjusting for age and sex. Regression analysis showed that A1C had a strong association with metabolic syndrome that persisted after adjusting for age and sex (odds ratio [OR] 2.9 [95% CI 2.08-4.00]; P < 0.001). A1C also had a strong association with CAD (2.6 [1.23-5.63]; P = 0.01), but the significance was lost when adjusted for age and sex. CONCLUSIONS: There is a strong association of A1C with prevalent CVD risk factors in Asian-Indian subjects with NGT

Optical Properties of MFe_4P_12 filled skutterudites

Infrared reflectance spectroscopy measurements were made on four members of the MFe_4P_12 family of filled skutterudites, with M=La, Th, Ce and U. In progressing from M=La to U the system undergoes a metal-insulator transition. It is shown that, although the filling atom induces such dramatic changes in the transport properties of the system, it has only a small effect on lattice dynamics. We discuss this property of the compounds in the context of their possible thermoelectric applications.Comment: Manuscript in ReVTeX format, 7 figures in PostScirpt forma

Reversal of loss of bone mass in old mice treated with mefloquine

Aging is accompanied by imbalanced bone remodeling, elevated osteocyte apoptosis, and decreased bone mass and mechanical properties; and improved pharmacologic approaches to counteract bone deterioration with aging are needed. We examined herein the effect of mefloquine, a drug used to treat malaria and systemic lupus erythematosus and shown to ameliorate bone loss in glucocorticoid-treated patients, on bone mass and mechanical properties in young and old mice. Young 3.5-month-old and old 21-month-old female C57BL/6 mice received daily injections of 5 mg/kg/day mefloquine for 14 days. Aging resulted in the expected changes in bone volume and mechanical properties. In old mice mefloquine administration reversed the lower vertebral cancellous bone volume and bone formation; and had modest effects on cortical bone volume, thickness, and moment of inertia. Mefloquine administration did not change the levels of the circulating bone formation markers P1NP or alkaline phosphatase, whereas levels of the resorption marker CTX showed trends towards increase with mefloquine treatment. In addition, and as expected, aging bones exhibited an accumulation of active caspase3-expressing osteocytes and higher expression of apoptosis-related genes compared to young mice, which were not altered by mefloquine administration at either age. In young animals, mefloquine induced higher periosteal bone formation, but lower endocortical bone formation. Further, osteoclast numbers were higher on the endocortical bone surface and circulating CTX levels were increased, in mefloquine- compared to vehicle-treated young mice. Consistent with this, addition of mefloquine to bone marrow cells isolated from young mice led to increased osteoclastic gene expression and a tendency towards increased osteoclast numbers in vitro. Taken together our findings identify the age and bone-site specific skeletal effects of mefloquine. Further, our results highlight a beneficial effect of mefloquine administration on vertebral cancellous bone mass in old animals, raising the possibility of using this pharmacologic inhibitor to preserve skeletal health with aging