The pain experiences of powered wheelchair users

Copyright © 2012 Informa UK, Ltd. This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below.Purpose: To explore the experience of pain and discomfort in users of electric-powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs (EPIOCs) provided by a National Health Service. Methods: EPIOC users receiving their chair between February and November 2002 (N=74) were invited to participate in a telephone questionnaire/interview and 64 (aged 1081 years) agreed. Both specific and open-ended questions examined the presence of pain/discomfort, its severity, minimizing and aggravating factors, particularly in relation to the EPIOC and its use. Results: Most EPIOC users described experiences of pain with 17% reporting severe pain. Over half felt their pain was influenced by the wheelchair and few (25%) considered their chair eased their symptoms. The most common strategy for pain relief was taking medication. Other self-help strategies included changing position, exercise and complementary therapies. Respondents emphasized the provision of backrests, armrests, footrests and cushions which might alleviate or exacerbate pain, highlighting the importance of appropriate assessment for this high dependency group. Conclusions: Users related pain to their underlying medical condition, their wheelchair or a combination of the two. User feedback is essential to ensure that the EPIOC meets health needs with minimal pain. This becomes more important as the health condition of users changes over time

Contribution of microscopy for understanding the mechanism of action against trypanosomatids

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has proved to be a useful tool to study the ultrastructural alterations and the target organelles of new antitrypanosomatid drugs. Thus, it has been observed that sesquiterpene lactones induce diverse ultrastructural alterations in both T. cruzi and Leishmania spp., such as cytoplasmic vacuolization, appearance of multilamellar structures, condensation of nuclear DNA, and, in some cases, an important accumulation of lipid vacuoles. This accumulation could be related to apoptotic events. Some of the sesquiterpene lactones (e.g., psilostachyin) have also been demonstrated to cause an intense mitochondrial swelling accompanied by a visible kinetoplast deformation as well as the appearance of multivesicular bodies. This mitochondrial swelling could be related to the generation of oxidative stress and associated to alterations in the ergosterol metabolism. The appearance of multilamellar structures and multiple kinetoplasts and flagella induced by the sesquiterpene lactone psilostachyin C indicates that this compound would act at the parasite cell cycle level, in an intermediate stage between kinetoplast segregation and nuclear division. In turn, the diterpene lactone icetexane has proved to induce the external membrane budding on T. cruzi together with an apparent disorganization of the pericellar cytoskeleton. Thus, ultrastructural TEM studies allow elucidating the possible mechanisms and the subsequent identification of molecular targets for the action of natural compounds on trypanosomatids.Fil: Lozano, Esteban Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Spina Zapata, Renata María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; ArgentinaFil: Barrera, Patricia Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; ArgentinaFil: Tonn, Carlos Eugenio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química; ArgentinaFil: Sosa Escudero, Miguel Angel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; Argentin

Cystatin C and lactoferrin concentrations in biological fluids as possible prognostic factors in eye tumor development

Objectives. To investigate the possible role of cystatin C in eye biological fluids locally and in serum and lactoferrin revealing anti-tumor activity in eye tumor development. Background. The increased number of eye tumors was registered recently not only in the countries with high insolation, but also in the northern countries including Russia (11 cases per million of population). Search for new biological markers is important for diagnosis and prognosis in eye tumors. Cystatin C, an endogenous inhibitor of cysteine proteases, plays an important protective role in several tumors. Lactoferrin was shown to express anti-tumor and antiviral activities. It was hypothesized that cystatin C and lactoferrin could serve as possible biomarkers in the diagnosis of malignant and benign eye tumors. Study design. A total of 54 patients with choroidal melanoma and benign eye tumors were examined (part of them undergoing surgical treatment). Serum, tear fluid and intraocular fluid samples obtained from the anterior chamber of eyes in patients with choroidal melanoma were studied. Methods. Cystatin C concentration in serum and eye biological fluids was measured by commercial ELISA kits for human (BioVendor, Czechia); lactoferrin concentration – by Lactoferrin-strip D 4106 ELISA test systems (Vector-BEST, Novosibirsk Region, Russia). Results. Cystatin C concentration in serum of healthy persons was significantly higher as compared to tear and intraocular fluids. In patients with choroidal melanoma, increased cystatin C concentration was similar in tear fluid of both the eyes. Lactoferrin level in tear fluid of healthy persons was significantly higher than its serum level. Significantly increased lactoferrin concentration in tear fluid was noted in patients with benign and malignant eye tumors. Conclusion. Increased level of cystatin C in tear fluid seems to be a possible diagnostic factor in the eye tumors studied. However, it does not allow us to differentiate between malignant and benign eye tumors. Similar changes were noted for lactoferrin in tear fluid

A parallel implementation of sequential minimal optimization on FPGA

This paper proposes a parallel FPGA implementation of the training phase of a Support Vector Machine (SVM). The training phase of the SVM is implemented using Sequential Minimal Optimization (SMO), which enables the resolution of a complex convex optimization problem using simple steps. The SMO implementation is also highly parallel and uses some acceleration techniques, such as the error cache. Moreover, the Hardware Friendly Kernel (HFK) is used in order to reduce the kernel’s area, enabling an increase in the number of kernels per area. After the parallel implementation in hardware, the SVM is validated by bit-accurate simulation. Finally, analysis associated with the temporal performance of the proposed structure, as well as analysis associated with FPGAs area usage is performed

Effects of exposure to cigarette smoke prior to pregnancy in diabetic rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of cigarette smoke exposure before pregnancy on diabetic rats and their offspring development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin and cigarette smoke exposure was conducted by mainstream smoke generated by a mechanical smoking device and delivered into a chamber. Diabetic female Wistar rats were randomly distributed in four experimental groups (n minimum = 13/group): nondiabetic (ND) and diabetic rats exposed to filtered air (D), diabetic rats exposed to cigarette smoke prior to and into the pregnancy period (DS) and diabetic rats exposed to cigarette smoke prior to pregnancy period (DSPP). At day 21 of pregnancy, rats were killed for maternal biochemical determination and reproductive outcomes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The association of diabetes and cigarette smoke in DSPP group caused altered glycemia at term, reduced number of implantation and live fetuses, decreased litter and maternal weight, increased pre and postimplantation loss rates, reduced triglyceride and VLDL-c concentrations, increased levels of thiol groups and MDA. Besides, these dams presented increased SOD and GSH-Px activities. However, the increased antioxidant status was not sufficient to prevent the lipid peroxidation observed in these animals.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Despite the benefits stemming from smoking interruption during the pregnancy of diabetic rats, such improvement was insufficient to avoid metabolic alterations and provide an adequate intrauterine environment for embryofetal development. Therefore, these results suggest that it is necessary to cease smoking extensive time before planning pregnancy, since stopping smoking only when pregnancy is detected may not contribute effectively to fully adequate embryofetal development.</p

Midday measurements of leaf water potential and stomatal conductance are highly correlated with daily water use of Thompson Seedless grapevines

A study was conducted to determine the relationship between midday measurements of vine water status and daily water use of grapevines measured with a weighing lysimeter. Water applications to the vines were terminated on August 24th for 9 days and again on September 14th for 22 days. Daily water use of the vines in the lysimeter (ETLYS) was approximately 40 L vine−1 (5.3 mm) prior to turning the pump off, and it decreased to 22.3 L vine−1 by September 2nd. Pre-dawn leaf water potential (ΨPD) and midday Ψl on August 24th were −0.075 and −0.76 MPa, respectively, with midday Ψl decreasing to −1.28 MPa on September 2nd. Leaf g s decreased from ~500 to ~200 mmol m−2 s−1 during the two dry-down periods. Midday measurements of g s and Ψl were significantly correlated with one another (r = 0.96) and both with ETLYS/ETo (r = ~0.9). The decreases in Ψl, g s, and ETLYS/ETo in this study were also a linear function of the decrease in volumetric soil water content. The results indicate that even modest water stress can greatly reduce grapevine water use and that short-term measures of vine water status taken at midday are a reflection of daily grapevine water us

Geographic Coincidence of Increased Malaria Transmission Hazard and Vulnerability Occurring at the Periphery of two Tanzanian Villages.

The goal of malaria elimination necessitates an improved understanding of any fine-scale geographic variations in transmission risk so that complementary vector control tools can be integrated into current vector control programmes as supplementary measures that are spatially targeted to maximize impact upon residual transmission. This study examines the distribution of host-seeking malaria vectors at households within two villages in rural Tanzania. Host-seeking mosquitoes were sampled from 72 randomly selected households in two villages on a monthly basis throughout 2008 using CDC light-traps placed beside occupied nets. Spatial autocorrelation in the dataset was examined using the Moran's I statistic and the location of any clusters was identified using the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic. Statistical associations between the household characteristics and clusters of mosquitoes were assessed using a generalized linear model for each species. For both Anopheles gambiae sensu lato and Anopheles funestus, the density of host-seeking females was spatially autocorrelated, or clustered. For both species, houses with low densities were clustered in the semi-urban village centre while houses with high densities were clustered in the periphery of the villages. Clusters of houses with low or high densities of An. gambiae s.l. were influenced by the number of residents in nearby houses. The occurrence of high-density clusters of An. gambiae s.l. was associated with lower elevations while An. funestus was also associated with higher elevations. Distance from the village centre was also positively correlated with the number of household occupants and having houses constructed with open eaves. The results of the current study highlight that complementary vector control tools could be most effectively targeted to the periphery of villages where the households potentially have a higher hazard (mosquito densities) and vulnerability (open eaves and larger households) to malaria infection