OBJECTIVE EVALUATION OF FUNCTIONAL ANKLE INSTABILITY AND BALANCE EXERCISE TREATMENT

Functional ankle instability (FAI) is a poorly defined entity but commonly used to describe patients who sustain multiple ankle injuries with slight or no external provocation and have a subjective feeling of ankle "giving way". There have been conflicting results reported in literature regarding the role of suggested etiological factors of FAI including deficit in joint proprioception, strength, and stiffness (laxity). Diagnosis of FAI has been mainly relied on a subjective reporting, so is the assessment of FAI treatments. In spite of controversies regarding FAI factors, balance training has been widely used in sports medicine clinics for patients with FAI. Most of past studies reported its effect for FAI, but strong evidence with definitive result is still missing. Furthermore, the mechanism that explains the effect of balance training on FAI is still unclear. Recently, it was suggested that altered threshold to the unloading reaction may be behind ankle giving way episodes in patients with ankle instability. Therefore, we wanted to duplicate this finding in individuals with FAI during sudden ankle inversion test and examine the effects of a four-week balance training program on unloading reactions in individuals with FAI. Twenty four recreationally active individuals with unilateral FAI were evaluated for unloading reactions on the involved and uninvolved limbs using a sudden ankle inversion test. In seven out of twenty-four subjects, we observed a drastic reaction (hyper-reactivity) in that they were unable to maintain upright standing position when a combination of dynamic ankle stretching and nociceptive stimuli was applied on their affected ankles. The subjects were then randomized to either a control or intervention group. Subjects in the intervention group were trained on the affected limb with static and dynamic components using a Biodex balance stability system for 4-weeks. The control group received no intervention. The results suggested that balance training may desensitize the hyper-reactivity to unloading reaction in FAI subjects, suggesting a possible mechanism for reducing the ankle "giving way" episodes. In addition, balance training was found to improve the subjective self-reported ankle instability and passive ankle joint position sense. No effect was observed on isometric and isokinetic peroneal muscle strength and ankle stiffness (laxity). In summary, this dissertation work provides evidence that balance training is effective in patients with FAI, however a further study with more sample size and additional outcome measures is required to better understand the mechanism of balance training in these individuals. The findings of this work have implications for research/rehabilitation of not only individuals with FAI but also in individuals with functional joint instability, such as functional knee instability which shares many common symptoms with FAI

RON - The Con in Colorectal Carcinoma

The recepteur d’origine nantais (RON) is a member of MET family of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTKs), an overexpression of which has been observed in several cancers. The expression of RON gene is required during embryonic development and also plays critical roles in regulating macrophage inflammatory response. In CRC, the overexpression of moderate RON activity contributes to their oncogenic potential by regulating several key processes such as proliferation, motility and resistance to apoptosis. Interestingly, an aberrant RON expression is often associated with the generation of several splice variants with unique transforming activities. The targeting of RON signaling pathway by the use of mono-clonal antibodies and small-molecule inhibitors has shown promising therapeutic results in animal models. The present ar-ticle aims at summarizing the current understanding of RON kinase in CRC

Hood canal bridge effect on hydrodynamics and nearfield zone of influence

Hood Canal is a deep and long estuarine sub-basin within the Salish Sea that exhibits characteristics of classic fjords. Presence of the Hood Canal Bridge (HCB), a floating barge-like block near the mouth of Hood Canal is under investigation for potential environmental impacts on water quality and pelagic ecosystem. In this study, the effect of HCB on Hood Canal stratification and transport were evaluated using the Salish Sea Model, a 3-D hydrodynamic model with Hood Canal Bridge embedded at a high local resolution. The effects of the bridge as an obstruction to tidal currents and circulation were examined near the structure with the objective of characterizing the nearfield zone of influence (ZOI). This was accomplished through a combination of field measurements, and model simulations. ZOI was defined as the 3-D space near the floating bridge where ambient water properties were noticeably affected relative to background or natural water approaching the bridge during ebb or flood conditions. Field measurements included tides, currents, salinity, and temperature profile time series data collected from locations near the bridge over a 4-week period. These included stations upstream, downstream, and directly below the structure. The model results were in good agreement with the observed data. The simulated results show significant reduction of velocities in the surface layers near the structure. The Effect of HCB on temperature and salinity was also noticeable and extended over a larger zone predominantly during peak ebb and flood periods. HCB blocks the advection of warmer temperature and brackish water from the inner part of Hood Canal to the Salish Sea, creating significant backwater effect and associated temperature and salinity gradients during ebb as well as flood. ZOI(s) relative to the ambient current, salinity, and temperature structure were computed and will be presented

Design of Ternary Memory Cell Using QDGFET

Ternary logic is a promising option to conventional binary logic because it can handle higher information in less number of gate count. Less number of gates requires less area in a chip which is equivalent to gold in today’s nano scale circuits. A novel design of a ternary memory cell based on QDGFETs is proposed. Memory cell is made of two back to back connected inverters. It is the conventional 6T memory cell design. Main advantage of QDGFET is that it can be used directly by replacing CMOS in the circuit without making any changes. Embedded memory requires the largest share of area in modern high-performance circuit designs. As the technology progresses the demand for high capacity memories also increases. So to fulfil this demand, researchers are trying to come up with new technology and solutions. The use of ternary logic instead of binary logic is a possible solution. So in this paper I have designed a ternary memory cell which stores one bit of ternary logic data

Ocean acidification driven changes in pH exposure of zooplankton: projections from the Salish Sea model

The Salish Sea Model explicitly evaluates the dynamics of carbonate chemistry parameters (pH, DIC, Alkalinity) at relatively small spatial and temporal scales. These model components served as a basis for estimating the pH exposure dynamics of simulated zooplankton. Zooplankton were modeled assuming a variety of movement behaviors including passive drift with the currents, daily vertical migrations and directed movement toward food or way from unfavorable conditions. These movement behaviors capture the range of possibilities for many of the species in Salish Sea. The pH conditions from the Salish Sea Model included simulations from multiple seasons in recent years and projections of carbonate chemistry expected in the future from ocean acidification. The zooplankton behavior, season, specific location in the Salish Sea ,and changes from ocean acidification all influence the pH exposure trajectories. The analysis provides insight in to which combinations of features lead to the highest and lowest rates of exposure to potentially hazardous pH conditions