Supervised Lower Extremity Strengthening Program to Improve Function in Women Over Fifty with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Time Series Design

Objective: Develop a simple, self-paced lower extremity strengthening program incorporating functional activities for women over the age of fifty to reduce limitations associated with knee OA. Study Design: This was a pilot study utilizing a time series design with 8 women aged 55-65 (M + SD = 60 + 3) meeting the American College of Rheumatology\u27s criteria for clinical diagnosis of knee OA. Background: Lower extremity weakness in women with knee osteoarthritis is associated with pain and functional limitations. Methods and Measures: Subjects began the 14-week program with 2 weeks of baseline treadmill walking. The following 12 weeks were divided into 3 phases, 4 weeks each, consisting of a 10 minute walking warm-up, 18 minute stepping protocol and a 10 minute walking cool-down. Step height progressively increased by 2 inches each phase. Outcome measures included Limits of Stability and Sensory Organization Test taken at weeks 1 and 14 on the NeuroCom Smart Equitest®; the Western Ontario and McMaster’s University Arthritis Index (WOMAC) and quadriceps strength using a hand-held dynamometer recorded at each change of phase; and pain rating using a visual analogue scale which was scored every session. Results: A repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated a significant difference between WOMAC means (F(4,28) = 6.218, p\u3c.001). Additionally, a statistically significant difference was found among the means for bilateral quadriceps strength measurements (F(4,28) = 36.338, p\u3c.0005). Pair-wise comparisons for bilateral quadriceps strength revealed a statistically significant difference among the means between all treatment times when compared to the post-treatment scores (ps\u3c.003). Conclusions: Subjects demonstrated an increase in quadriceps strength particularly in the final phase of the step program. WOMAC scores revealed significant changes between pre and week 10 treatment functional levels. The gains seen within this subject group in a limited time frame offer preliminary evidence that a strength-training program may benefit women over 50 with knee OA by improving lower extremity strength and function. These results warrant further investigation using more rigorous methodology

Determinants of General Practitioners' Wages in England

We analyse the determinants of annual net income and wages (annual net income/hours) of general practitioners (GPs) using a unique, anonymised, non-disclosive dataset derived from tax returns for 21,657 GPs in England for the financial year 2002/3. The average GP had a gross income of £189,300, incurred expenses of £115,600, and earned an annual net income of £73,700. The mean wage was £35 per hour. Net income and wages depended on gender, experience, list size, partnership size, whether or not the GP worked in a dispensing practice, whether or not they worked in a Primary Medical Service (PMS) practice, and the characteristics of the local population (limiting long term illness rate, proportion from ethnic minorities, population density, Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000). The findings have implications for discrimination by GP gender and country of qualification, economies of scale by practice size, incentives for competition for patients, compensating differentials for local population characteristics, and the attractiveness of PMS versus General Medical Services contracts.Physician, family. General practitioner. Income. Wages. Contract.

A Metadata Registry from Vocabularies Up: the NSDL Registry Project

The NSDL Metadata Registry is designed to provide humans and machines with the means to discover, create, access and manage metadata schemes, schemas, application profiles, crosswalks and concept mappings. This paper describes the general goals and architecture of the NSDL Metadata Registry as well as issues encountered during the first year of the project's implementation.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DUE-0532828

Nor98 scrapie identified in the United States

A distinct strain of scrapie identified in sheep of Norway in 1998 has since been identified in numerous countries throughout Europe. The disease is known as Nor98 or Nor98-like scrapie, among other names. Distinctions between classic scrapie and Nor98 scrapie are made based on histopathology and immunodiagnostic results. There are also differences in the epidemiology, typical signalment, and likelihood of clinical signs being observed. In addition, sheep that have genotypes associated with resistance to classic scrapie are not spared from Nor98 disease. The various differences between classic and Nor98 scrapie have been consistently reported in the vast majority of cases described across Europe. The current study describes in detail the pathologic changes and diagnostic results of the first 6 cases of Nor98 scrapie disease diagnosed in sheep of the United States

Using knowledge: the dilemmas of 'bridging research and policy'

The 'knowledge agenda' has become a central part of development discourse. This paper addresses one aspect of this discourse - the use of policy research in the social sciences - and the dilemmas that have been encountered by both development agencies and researchers in communicating and making use of that research. Development agencies as well as NGOs have initiated work to evaluate and document the effectiveness of research partnerships, knowledge capacity building and (social) science policy impact. As a multilateral initiative, the Global Development Network (GDN), and especially its 'Bridging Research and Policy' project, provides a vehicle to address issues related to research impact. Twelve perspectives on improving research and policy linkages are outlined to reveal that how the problem is defined shapes policy responses. Taken together, these explanations provide a multifaceted picture of the research-policy nexus indicating that there are many possible routes to 'bridging' research and policy. These diverse perspectives will be categorised into three broad categories of explanation: (i) supply-side; (ii) demand-led; and (iii) policy currents. However, knowledge is part of the solution to many development problems but not of itself a panacea

The global value of coastal wetlands for storm protection

Coastal wetlands provide a range of valuable ecosystem services, including protecting coastal communities from storms. We estimated for the first time the global value of these storm protection services for all coastal wetlands for both damages avoided and lives saved. We used the historical tracks of 1,014 tropical cyclones since 1902 that recorded property damage and/or human casualties in 71 countries/regions. We used Bayesian and OLS statistical techniques to relate storm damages and lives lost to: wind speed, storm forward speed, the year of the storm, the volume of ocean water proximal to landfall, and GDP, population, and coastal wetlands in the swath of the storm. Based on current storm probabilities, we estimate the median annual global value of coastal wetlands for storm protection at $447 billion/yr (2015$US) ($213 -$837 billion/yr, 90% CI) and 4,620 lives saved per year (3,320 – 6,550, 90% CI). The 40 million hectares of coastal wetlands in storm prone areas provided an average of $11,000/ha/yr in avoided storm damages. The frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones has been increasing in recent decades and is projected to further increase with climate change. Consequently, the already significant benefits from protecting and restoring coastal wetlands will become increasingly important and valuable in the future. These results justify much larger investments in conservation and restoration of coastal wetlands

Multioccupant Activity Recognition in Pervasive Smart Home Environments

been the center of lot of research for many years now. The aim is to recognize the sequence of actions by a specific person using sensor readings. Most of the research has been devoted to activity recognition of single occupants in the environment. However, living environments are usually inhabited by more than one person and possibly with pets. Hence, human activity recognition in the context of multi-occupancy is more general, but also more challenging. The difficulty comes from mainly two aspects: resident identification, known as data association, and diversity of human activities. The present survey paper provides an overview of existing approaches and current practices for activity recognition in multi-occupant smart homes. It presents the latest developments and highlights the open issues in this field

Semaphorin 3B Is a 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D 3 -Induced Gene in Osteoblasts that Promotes Osteoclastogenesis and Induces Osteopenia in Mice

The vitamin D endocrine system is important for skeletal homeostasis. ] is the bioactive metabolite of vitamin D. This hormone functions through the vitamin D receptor (VDR), a member of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily, to regulate the transcription of target genes in a number of tissues including the intestine, bone, parathyroid gland, skin, and a variety of other systems (1, 2). The 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 /VDR endocrine system functions in diverse biological processes, such as hair follicle cycling, mammary gland development, and immune cell function (2). One of the most profound actions of 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 is to protect skeletal integrity because deficiencies in either the hormone or the receptor result in undermineralized bones Acting in concert with PTH, 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 preserves bone mineralization primarily by maintaining calcium and phosphate homeostasis. 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 controls serum levels of these minerals by stimulating calcium and phosphate absorption by the intestine, by increasing reabsorption of calcium and phosphate in the kidney, and by liberating calcium and phosphate from skeletal stores (3). When dietary sources of calcium are inadequate, 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 promotes osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption, in part, by stimulating osteoblasts to express receptor activator of nuclear factor-B ligand (RANKL) (5), a molecule essential for osteoclast formation and function (6, 7). Under conditions of normocalcemia, the 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 /VDR endocrine system also modulates osteoblast differentiation and mineralization (8-11). Thus, 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 functions both systemically to regulate serum concentrations of calcium and phosphate and locally to fine-tune the balance between bone formation and bone resorption. However, with the exception of RANKL and a few bone matrix protein

Caffeine protects against experimental acute pancreatitis by inhibition of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor-mediated Ca 2+ release

Objective Caffeine reduces toxic Ca2+ signals in pancreatic acinar cells via inhibition of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R)-mediated signalling, but effects of other xanthines have not been evaluated, nor effects of xanthines on experimental acute pancreatitis (AP). We have determined effects of caffeine and its xanthine metabolites on pancreatic acinar IP3R-mediated Ca2+ signalling and experimental AP. Design Isolated pancreatic acinar cells were exposed to secretagogues, uncaged IP3 or toxins that induce AP and effects of xanthines, non-xanthine phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors and cyclic adenosine monophosphate and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cAMP/cGMP) determined. The intracellular cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]C), mitochondrial depolarisation and necrosis were assessed by confocal microscopy. Effects of xanthines were evaluated in caerulein-induced AP (CER-AP), taurolithocholic acid 3-sulfate-induced AP (TLCS-AP) or palmitoleic acid plus ethanol-induced AP (fatty acid ethyl ester AP (FAEE-AP)). Serum xanthines were measured by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results Caffeine, dimethylxanthines and non-xanthine PDE inhibitors blocked IP3-mediated Ca2+ oscillations, while monomethylxanthines had little effect. Caffeine and dimethylxanthines inhibited uncaged IP3-induced Ca2+ rises, toxin-induced Ca2+ release, mitochondrial depolarisation and necrotic cell death pathway activation; cAMP/cGMP did not inhibit toxin-induced Ca2+ rises. Caffeine significantly ameliorated CER-AP with most effect at 25 mg/kg (seven injections hourly); paraxanthine or theophylline did not. Caffeine at 25 mg/kg significantly ameliorated TLCS-AP and FAEE-AP. Mean total serum levels of dimethylxanthines and trimethylxanthines peaked at >2 mM with 25 mg/kg caffeine but at <100 µM with 25 mg/kg paraxanthine or theophylline. Conclusions Caffeine and its dimethylxanthine metabolites reduced pathological IP3R-mediated pancreatic acinar Ca2+ signals but only caffeine ameliorated experimental AP. Caffeine is a suitable starting point for medicinal chemistr