Static stretching of the hamstring muscle for injury prevention in football codes: a systematic review

Purpose: Hamstring injuries are common among football players. There is still disagreement regarding prevention. The aim of this review is to determine whether static stretching reduces hamstring injuries in football codes. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted on the online databases PubMed, PEDro, Cochrane, Web of Science, Bisp and Clinical Trial register. Study results were presented descriptively and the quality of the studies assessed were based on Cochrane’s ‘risk of bias’ tool. Results: The review identified 35 studies, including four analysis studies. These studies show deficiencies in the quality of study designs. Conclusion: The study protocols are varied in terms of the length of intervention and follow-up. No RCT studies are available, however, RCT studies should be conducted in the near future

Impacts of climate change on plant diseases – opinions and trends

There has been a remarkable scientific output on the topic of how climate change is likely to affect plant diseases in the coming decades. This review addresses the need for review of this burgeoning literature by summarizing opinions of previous reviews and trends in recent studies on the impacts of climate change on plant health. Sudden Oak Death is used as an introductory case study: Californian forests could become even more susceptible to this emerging plant disease, if spring precipitations will be accompanied by warmer temperatures, although climate shifts may also affect the current synchronicity between host cambium activity and pathogen colonization rate. A summary of observed and predicted climate changes, as well as of direct effects of climate change on pathosystems, is provided. Prediction and management of climate change effects on plant health are complicated by indirect effects and the interactions with global change drivers. Uncertainty in models of plant disease development under climate change calls for a diversity of management strategies, from more participatory approaches to interdisciplinary science. Involvement of stakeholders and scientists from outside plant pathology shows the importance of trade-offs, for example in the land-sharing vs. sparing debate. Further research is needed on climate change and plant health in mountain, boreal, Mediterranean and tropical regions, with multiple climate change factors and scenarios (including our responses to it, e.g. the assisted migration of plants), in relation to endophytes, viruses and mycorrhiza, using long-term and large-scale datasets and considering various plant disease control methods

Airflow Dynamics of Human Jets: Sneezing and Breathing - Potential Sources of Infectious Aerosols

10.1371/journal.pone.0059970PLoS ONE84

The influence of caffeine on energy content of sugar-sweetened beverages : the caffeine–calorie effect

Background/Objectives: Caffeine is a mildly addictive psychoactive chemical and controversial additive to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). The objective of this study is to assess if removal of caffeine from SSBs allows co-removal of sucrose (energy) without affecting flavour of SSBs, and if removal of caffeine could potentially affect population weight gain. Subjects/Methods: The research comprised of three studies; study 1 used three-alternate forced choice and paired comparison tests to establish detection thresholds for caffeine in water and sucrose solution (subjects, n ¼ 63), and to determine if caffeine suppressed sweetness. Study 2 (subjects, n ¼ 30) examined the proportion of sucrose that could be co-removed with caffeine from SSBs without affecting the flavour of the SSBs. Study 3 applied validated coefficients to estimate the impact on the weight of the United States population if there was no caffeine in SSBs. Results: Detection threshold for caffeine in water was higher (1.09±0.08 mM) than the detection threshold for caffeine in sucrose solution (0.49 ± 0.04 mM), and a paired comparison test revealed caffeine significantly reduced the sweetness of sucrose (Po0.001). Removing caffeine from SSBs allowed co-removal of 10.3% sucrose without affecting flavour of the SSBs, equating to 116 kJ per 500 ml serving. The effect of this on body weight in adults and children would be 0.600 and 0.142 kg, which are equivalent to 2.08 and 1.10 years of observed existing trends in weight gain, respectively. Conclusion: These data suggest the extra energy in SSBs as a result of caffeine's effect on sweetness may be associated with adult and child weight gain

The VLBA CANDELS GOODS-North survey. II -Wide-field source catalogue comparison between the VLBA, EVN, e -MERLIN, and VLA

\ua9 2024 The Author(s).Deep radio surveys of e xtragalactic le gac y fields trace a large range of spatial and brightness temperature sensitivity scales, and therefore have differing biases to radio-emitting physical components within galaxies. This is particularly true of radio surveys performed at ≤ 1 arcsec angular resolutions, and so robust comparisons are necessary to better understand the biases present in each survey. We present a multiresolution and multiwav elength analysis of the sources detected in a new Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) survey of the Cosmic Assembly Near-IR Deep Extrag alactic Leg acy Survey Great Observatories Origins Deep Surv e y-North field. F or the 24 VLBA-selected sources described in Paper I, we augment the VLBA data with EVN data, and ~0.1-1 arcsec angular resolution data provided by Very Large Array (VLA) and enhanced-Multi Element Remotely Linked Interferometry Network. This sample includes new active galactic nuclei (AGN) detected in this field, thanks to a new source extraction technique that adopts priors from ancillary multiwavelength data. The high brightness temperatures of these sources ( TB ≥ 106 K) confirm AGN cores, that would often be missed or ambiguous in lower-resolution radio data of the same sources. Furthermore, only 15 sources are identified as \u27radiative\u27 AGN based on available X-ray and infrared constraints. By combining VLA and VLBA measurements, we find evidence that the majority of the extended radio emission is also AGN dominated, with only three sources with evidence for extended potentially star formation-dominated radio emission. We demonstrate the importance of wide-field multiresolution (arcsecond-milliarcsecond) co v erage of the faint radio source population, for a complete picture of the multiscale processes within these galaxies

A Complete Pathway Model for Lipid A Biosynthesis in Escherichia coli.

Lipid A is a highly conserved component of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), itself a major component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. Lipid A is essential to cells and elicits a strong immune response from humans and other animals. We developed a quantitative model of the nine enzyme-catalyzed steps of Escherichia coli lipid A biosynthesis, drawing parameters from the experimental literature. This model accounts for biosynthesis regulation, which occurs through regulated degradation of the LpxC and WaaA (also called KdtA) enzymes. The LpxC degradation signal appears to arise from the lipid A disaccharide concentration, which we deduced from prior results, model results, and new LpxK overexpression results. The model agrees reasonably well with many experimental findings, including the lipid A production rate, the behaviors of mutants with defective LpxA enzymes, correlations between LpxC half-lives and cell generation times, and the effects of LpxK overexpression on LpxC concentrations. Its predictions also differ from some experimental results, which suggest modifications to the current understanding of the lipid A pathway, such as the possibility that LpxD can replace LpxA and that there may be metabolic channeling between LpxH and LpxB. The model shows that WaaA regulation may serve to regulate the lipid A production rate when the 3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid (KDO) concentration is low and/or to control the number of KDO residues that get attached to lipid A. Computation of flux control coefficients showed that LpxC is the rate-limiting enzyme if pathway regulation is ignored, but that LpxK is the rate-limiting enzyme if pathway regulation is present, as it is in real cells. Control also shifts to other enzymes if the pathway substrate concentrations are not in excess. Based on these results, we suggest that LpxK may be a much better drug target than LpxC, which has been pursued most often

Acquired resistance to oxaliplatin is not directly associated with increased resistance to DNA damage in SK-N-ASrOXALI4000, a newly established oxaliplatin-resistant sub-line of the neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-AS

The formation of acquired drug resistance is a major reason for the failure of anti-cancer therapies after initial response. Here, we introduce a novel model of acquired oxaliplatin resistance, a sub-line of the non-MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-AS that was adapted to growth in the presence of 4000 ng/mL oxaliplatin (SK-N-ASrOXALI4000). SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells displayed enhanced chromosomal aberrations compared to SK-N-AS, as indicated by 24-chromosome fluorescence in situ hybridisation. Moreover, SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells were resistant not only to oxaliplatin but also to the two other commonly used anti-cancer platinum agents cisplatin and carboplatin. SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells exhibited a stable resistance phenotype that was not affected by culturing the cells for 10 weeks in the absence of oxaliplatin. Interestingly, SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells showed no cross resistance to gemcitabine and increased sensitivity to doxorubicin and UVC radiation, alternative treatments that like platinum drugs target DNA integrity. Notably, UVC-induced DNA damage is thought to be predominantly repaired by nucleotide excision repair and nucleotide excision repair has been described as the main oxaliplatin-induced DNA damage repair system. SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells were also more sensitive to lysis by influenza A virus, a candidate for oncolytic therapy, than SK-N-AS cells. In conclusion, we introduce a novel oxaliplatin resistance model. The oxaliplatin resistance mechanisms in SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells appear to be complex and not to directly depend on enhanced DNA repair capacity. Models of oxaliplatin resistance are of particular relevance since research on platinum drugs has so far predominantly focused on cisplatin and carboplatin

Sexual dimorphism in cancer.

The incidence of many types of cancer arising in organs with non-reproductive functions is significantly higher in male populations than in female populations, with associated differences in survival. Occupational and/or behavioural factors are well-known underlying determinants. However, cellular and molecular differences between the two sexes are also likely to be important. In this Opinion article, we focus on the complex interplay that sex hormones and sex chromosomes can have in intrinsic control of cancer-initiating cell populations, the tumour microenvironment and systemic determinants of cancer development, such as the immune system and metabolism. A better appreciation of these differences between the two sexes could be of substantial value for cancer prevention as well as treatment

HERALD (Health Economics using Routine Anonymised Linked Data)

<b>Background</b> Health economic analysis traditionally relies on patient derived questionnaire data, routine datasets, and outcomes data from experimental randomised control trials and other clinical studies, which are generally used as stand-alone datasets. Herein, we outline the potential implications of linking these datasets to give one single joined up data-resource for health economic analysis.<p></p> <b>Method</b> The linkage of individual level data from questionnaires with routinely-captured health care data allows the entire patient journey to be mapped both retrospectively and prospectively. We illustrate this with examples from an Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) cohort by linking patient reported study dataset with the routinely collected general practitioner (GP) data, inpatient (IP) and outpatient (OP) datasets, and Accident and Emergency department data in Wales. The linked data system allows: (1) retrospective and prospective tracking of patient pathways through multiple healthcare facilities; (2) validation and clarification of patient-reported recall data, complementing the questionnaire/routine data information; (3) obtaining objective measure of the costs of chronic conditions for a longer time horizon, and during the pre-diagnosis period; (4) assessment of health service usage, referral histories, prescribed drugs and co-morbidities; and (5) profiling and stratification of patients relating to disease manifestation, lifestyles, co-morbidities, and associated costs.<p></p> <b>Results</b> Using the GP data system we tracked about 183 AS patients retrospectively and prospectively from the date of questionnaire completion to gather the following information: (a) number of GP events; (b) presence of a GP 'drug' read codes; and (c) the presence of a GP 'diagnostic' read codes. We tracked 236 and 296 AS patients through the OP and IP data systems respectively to count the number of OP visits; and IP admissions and duration. The results are presented under several patient stratification schemes based on disease severity, functions, age, sex, and the onset of disease symptoms.<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b> The linked data system offers unique opportunities for enhanced longitudinal health economic analysis not possible through the use of traditional isolated datasets. Additionally, this data linkage provides important information to improve diagnostic and referral pathways, and thus helps maximise clinical efficiency and efficiency in the use of resources