Impact of Yoga on Low Back Pain and Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

An estimated 70% of people will experience low back pain at some point in their lives, and recurrence rates can be as high as 85%. Recent studies suggest that yoga – a widely practiced physical/mental discipline – may relieve back pain and reduce functional disability. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing research on the effects of yoga on chronic low back pain and function. Our literature search began April 2011 and continued through October 2011. Cochrane, PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Google Scholar, and Clinicaltrials.gov databases were searched electronically. The search terms used were: yoga AND back pain. A total of 58 relevant studies were originally identified through the database searches. Of those, 45 were excluded on the basis of the title and/or review of the abstract. The 13 remaining studies were fully evaluated via a careful review of the full text. On the basis of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 6 studies were excluded, leaving a total of 7 studies to be included in the meta-analyses of the impact of yoga on low back pain and function. Effect sizes were calculated as the standardized mean difference and meta-analyses were completed using a random-effects model. Overall, yoga was found to result in a medium, beneficial effect on chronic low back pain [overall effect size (ES) = 0.58, p\u3c0.001], indicating that subjects practicing yoga reported significantly less pain than control subjects. Yoga subjects also reported significantly less functional disability after the intervention (overall ES = 0.53, p\u3c0.001). Moreover, the improvements in pain and function for yoga subjects remained statistically significant 12-24 weeks after the end of the intervention (overall ES = 0.44-0.54, p≤0.002). In conclusion, yoga practice can significantly reduce pain and increase functional ability in chronic low back pain patients

The propensity of the bacterial rodlin protein RdlB to form amyloid fibrils determines its function in Streptomyces coelicolor.

Streptomyces bacteria form reproductive aerial hyphae that are covered with a pattern of pairwise aligned fibrils called rodlets. The presence of the rodlet layer requires two homologous rodlin proteins, RdlA and RdlB, and the functional amyloid chaplin proteins, ChpA-H. In contrast to the redundancy shared among the eight chaplins, both RdlA and RdlB are indispensable for the establishment of this rodlet structure. By using a comprehensive biophysical approach combined with in vivo characterization we found that RdlB, but not RdlA, readily assembles into amyloid fibrils. The marked difference in amyloid propensity between these highly similar proteins could be largely attributed to a difference in amino acid sequence at just three sites. Further, an engineered RdlA protein in which these three key amino acids were replaced with the corresponding residues from RdlB could compensate for loss of RdlB and restore formation of the surface-exposed amyloid layer in bacteria. Our data reveal that RdlB is a new functional amyloid and provide a biophysical basis for the functional differences between the two rodlin proteins. This study enhances our understanding of how rodlin proteins contribute to formation of an outer fibrillar layer during spore morphogenesis in streptomycetes

Talking Through the Problems: A Study of Discourse in Peer-Led Small Groups

Increasingly, studies are investigating the factors that influence student discourse in science courses, and specifically the mechanisms and discourse processes within small groups, to better understand the learning that takes place as students work together. This paper contributes to a growing body of research by analyzing how students engage in conversation and work together to solve problems in a peer-led small-group setting. This qualitative study evaluates video of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) sessions in general chemistry, with attention to both the activity structures and the function of discourse as students undertook different types of problems across one semester. Our findings suggest that students talk their way through the problems; practicing a combination of regulative and instructional language to manage the group dynamics of their community of peer learners while developing and using specific disciplinary vocabulary. Additionally, student discourse patterns revealed a focus on the process of complex problem-solving, where students engage in joint decision-making by taking turns, questioning and explaining, and building on one another’s ideas. While students in our study engaged in less of the deeper, meaning-making discourse than expected, these observations about the function of language in small-group learning deepens an understanding of how PLTL and other types of small-group learning based on the tenets of social constructivism may lead to improvements in science education, with implications for the structure of small-group learning environments, problem design, and training of peer group leaders to encourage students to engage in more of the most effective discourse in these learning contexts

Correction to: Phenotate: crowdsourcing phenotype annotations as exercises in undergraduate classes (Genetics in Medicine, (2020), 22, 8, (1391-1400), 10.1038/s41436-020-0812-7)

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

Efficacy and safety of cardioprotective drugs in chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity: an updated systematic review & network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy have an increased risk of cardiovascular complications. This limits the widespread use of lifesaving therapies, often necessitating alternate lower efficacy regimens, or precluding chemotherapy entirely. Prior studies have suggested that using common cardioprotective agents may attenuate chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity. However, small sample sizes and conflicting outcomes have limited the clinical significance of these results. HYPOTHESIS: A comprehensive network meta-analysis using updated and high-quality data can provide more conclusive information to assess which drug or drug class has the most significant effect in the management of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity. METHODS: We performed a literature search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of cardioprotective agents in patients with chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity. We used established analytical tools (netmeta package in RStudio) and data extraction formats to analyze the outcome data. To obviate systematic bias in the selection and interpretation of RCTs, we employed the validated Cochrane risk-of-bias tools. Agents included were statins, aldosterone receptor antagonists (MRAs), ACEIs, ARBs, and beta-blockers. Outcomes examined were improvement in clinical and laboratory parameters of cardiac function including a decreased reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), clinical HF, troponin-I, and B-natriuretic peptide levels. RESULTS: Our study included 33 RCTs including a total of 3,285 patients. Compared to control groups, spironolactone therapy was associated with the greatest LVEF improvement (Mean difference (MD) = 12.80, [7.90; 17.70]), followed by enalapril (MD = 7.62, [5.31; 9.94]), nebivolol (MD = 7.30, [2.39; 12.21]), and statins (MD = 6.72, [3.58; 9.85]). Spironolactone was also associated with a significant reduction in troponin elevation (MD =  - 0.01, [- 0.02; - 0.01]). Enalapril demonstrated the greatest BNP reduction (MD =  - 49.00, [- 68.89; - 29.11]), which was followed by spironolactone (MD =  - 16.00, [- 23.9; - 8.10]). Additionally, patients on enalapril had the lowest risk of developing clinical HF compared to the control population (RR = 0.05, [0.00; 0.75]). CONCLUSION: Our analysis reaffirmed that statins, MRAs, ACEIs, and beta-blockers can significantly attenuate chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity, while ARBs showed no significant effects. Spironolactone showed the most robust improvement of LVEF, which best supports its use among this population. Our analysis warrants future clinical studies examining the cardioprotective effects of cardiac remodeling therapy in cancer patients treated with chemotherapeutic agents

Bloodlines: mammals, leeches, and conservation in southern Asia

Southern Asia is a biodiversity hotspot both for terrestrial mammals and for leeches. Many small-mammal groups are under-studied in this region, while other mammals are of known conservation concern. In addition to standard methods for surveying mammals, it has recently been demonstrated that residual bloodmeals within leeches can be sequenced to find mammals in a given area. While these invertebrate-parasite-derived DNA (iDNA) methods are promising, most of the leech species utilized for this type of survey remain unevaluated, notwithstanding that their diversity varies substantially. Here we examine approximately 750 individual leech specimens in the genus Haemadipsa across a large range in southern Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, and China), specifically reviewing the diversity of mammals they feed on and their own genetic structuring. Leeches were found to feed on a considerable variety of mammals, corroborating prior studies. Additionally, leeches were found to have fed both on bats and on birds, neither of which has previously been recorded with this method. The genetic structuring of the leeches themselves revealed 15 distinct clades of which only two precisely corresponded to previously characterized species, indicating that much work is needed to finalize classifications in this genus. Most importantly, with regards to mammal conservation, leeches in these clades appear to feed on a broad range of mammals

Implementing Electronic Tablet-Based Education of Acute Care Patients

Poor education-related discharge preparedness for patients with heart failure is believed to be a major cause of avoidable rehospitalizations. Technology-based applications offer innovative educational approaches that may improve educational readiness for patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings; however, a number of challenges exist when implementing electronic devices in the clinical setting. Implementation challenges include processes for "on-boarding" staff, mediating risks of cross-contamination with patients' device use, and selling the value to staff and health system leaders to secure the investment in software, hardware, and system support infrastructure. Strategies to address these challenges are poorly described in the literature. The purpose of this article is to present a staff development program designed to overcome challenges in implementing an electronic, tablet-based education program for patients with heart failure

Exome Sequencing as a Diagnostic Tool for Pediatric-Onset Ataxia

Ataxia demonstrates substantial phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity. We set out to determine the diagnostic yield of exome sequencing in pediatric patients with ataxia without a molecular diagnosis after standard-of-care assessment in Canada. FORGE (Finding Of Rare disease GEnes) Canada is a nation-wide project focused on identifying novel disease genes for rare pediatric diseases using whole-exome sequencing. We retrospectively selected all FORGE Canada projects that included cerebellar ataxia as a feature. We identified 28 such families and a molecular diagnosis was made in 13; a success rate of 46%. In 11 families, we identified mutations in genes associated with known neurological syndromes and in two we identified novel disease genes. Exome analysis of sib pairs and/or patients born to consanguineous parents was more likely to be successful (9/13) than simplex cases (4/15). Our data suggest that exome sequencing is an effective first line test for pediatric patients with ataxia where a specific single gene is not immediately suspected to be causative. © 2013 The Authors. *Human Mutation published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Patterns of woodboring beetle activity following fires and bark beetle outbreaks in montane forests of California, USA

Increasingly frequent and severe drought in the western United States has contributed to more frequent and severe wildfires, longer fire seasons, and more frequent bark beetle outbreaks that kill large numbers of trees. Climate change is expected to perpetuate these trends, especially in montane ecosystems, calling for improved strategies for managing Western forests and conserving the wildlife that they support. Woodboring beetles (e.g., Buprestidae and Cerambycidae) colonize dead and weakened trees and speed succession of habitats altered by fire or bark beetles, while serving as prey for some early-seral habitat specialists, including several woodpecker species. To understand how these ecologically important beetles respond to different sources of tree mortality, we sampled woodborers in 16 sites affected by wildfire or bark beetle outbreak in the previous one to eight years. Study sites were located in the Sierra Nevada, Modoc Plateau, Warner Mountains, and southern Cascades of California, USA. We used generalized linear mixed models to evaluate hypotheses concerning the response of woodboring beetles to disturbance type, severity, and timing; forest stand composition and structure; and tree characteristics.</p

Fine-mapping identifies multiple prostate cancer risk loci at 5p15, one of which associates with TERT expression

Associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 5p15 and multiple cancer types have been reported. We have previously shown evidence for a strong association between prostate cancer (PrCa) risk and rs2242652 at 5p15, intronic in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene that encodes TERT. To comprehensively evaluate the association between genetic variation across this region and PrCa, we performed a fine-mapping analysis by genotyping 134 SNPs using a custom Illumina iSelect array or Sequenom MassArray iPlex, followed by imputation of 1094 SNPs in 22 301 PrCa cases and 22 320 controls in The PRACTICAL consortium. Multiple stepwise logistic regression analysis identified four signals in the promoter or intronic regions of TERT that independently associated with PrCa risk. Gene expression analysis of normal prostate tissue showed evidence that SNPs within one of these regions also associated with TERT expression, providing a potential mechanism for predisposition to disease