Update on osteoarthritis part 1: current concepts and the relation to exercise

There appears to be an increased risk of lower limb osteoarthritis in participants of repetitive, high impact sports, and this is strongly associated with joint injury. There seems to be little risk associated with recreational running. Assessment of risk for osteoarthritis should take into account the nature of the sport, intensity of training, presence of previous injury, body mass index, and occupation

Influence of testing procedure on evaluation of white clover (Trifolium repens L.)

peer-reviewedThis study examined data sets derived from the white clover cultivar evaluation programmes of AFBI (N. Ireland), and DAFF (Republic of Ireland) to determine whether elite performing genotypes are identifiable, independent of test procedure and leaf size factors. Genetic variation in yield and persistency, independent of the leaf size continuum effect, was observed. Identification of elite cultivars by breeders or testers therefore required readjustment of assessment standards to account for the mostly curvilinear relationships between performance and leaf size. The different testing procedures, involving cutting or grazing at different heights, frequencies and nitrogen rates changed the relative performances between the cultivars, making it difficult to predict performance potential beyond specific test conditions. The underlying causes for these changes in rankings was considered, including sensitivity to season and location, the antagonistic affects of defoliation pressure and companion grass competition, the independence of different seasonal profiles and the probable role of other morphological characteristics. In is concluded that testing authorities must calculate the management by leaf size relationships to adjust pass/fail standards if elite performing cultivars are to be correctly indentified

Development and analysis of environmentally neutral, biodegradable, novel flocculants for drinking water treatment

The objective of this work is a systematic study of the use of oleaginous-seed press-cake extracts of Moringa oleifera lam, hemp, sunflower, rapeseed, strawberry, lime and raspberry as bioflocculants for the removal of suspended solids in the process of coagulation and flocculation. A quantitative method for the analysis of the coagulation and flocculation process was developed to test the activity of the proteinaceous extracts, based on a spectrophotometric assay using kaolin to create the turbid water samples. This method could be used to measure both the initial flocculation activity rate as well as the total level of turbidity removal. Extracts of the press-cakes were tested for flocculation activity over a range of physical and chemical conditions, including initial turbidity, coagulant dosage, pH, ionic strength, and reducing agents dithiothreitol (DTT) and proteases (Proteinase K). Of the extracts studied, all showed significant levels of coagulation and flocculation activity with the exception of strawberry, raspberry and lime extracts. The level of turbidity reduction was calculated and in the order of decreasing activity, the most effective bioflocculants were found to be Moringa, sunflower, hemp and rapeseed. These results indicate that many common oleaginous-seed press-cake extracts show potential as bioflocculants in water treatment processes. The first section of this work used a simulated Jar test assay, which required the samples to be taken off-line and measured in a spectrophotometer. This process made accurate measurement of sedimentation often difficult and was extremely time consuming. This has led to the much needed continuous-reading on-line turbidity meters to be attached to the standard jar test apparatus. Therefore, the main aim of this section of the project was to develop and validate a new on-line quantitative process for the analysis of flocculation activity by attaching six Mettler Toledo Turbidity Transmitter TRB 8300 probes to a data acquisition system (Lab View). Each of the probes was then placed inside the vessels in the Phipps and Bird PB-700 Jar Test apparatus. Instrument calibration and process validation were examined by setting up a study on a multipoint calibration, limit of detection, and sensitivity. The effect of interfering light, flocculant colouring effects on the readings from the probes, measurement of flocculation rates and change in turbidity was examined. The results have demonstrated that all probes work within a 95% confidence interval for the measurement of the flocculation assay. This result will aid the efficiency and accuracy of the experimentation by allowing six independent on-line measurements of flocculation and sedimentation activity to be determined in parallel rather than the original single Jar test assay

Evaluation of Lolium perenne L. cv. AberDart and AberDove for silage production

peer-reviewedThe objective of this study was to assess the value, for silage production, of intermediateheading Lolium perenne L. cultivars, AberDart and AberDove (diploid), bred for increased water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentrations, relative to four control cultivars (Fennema, AberElan and Spelga (diploid), and Greengold (tetraploid)). Cultivars were evaluated for forage dry matter (DM) yield, ground cover and indirect laboratory measures of nutritional value and ensilability over 3 harvest years within intensive silage-production systems. AberDove was the most desirable diploid for silage production producing on average 316 kg/ha higher (2%) DM yield per annum, having a 10 g/kg higher (1%) dry matter digestibility (DMD) and, based primarily on a 6 g/L higher (19%) concentration of WSC expressed in the aqueous extract (WSCAE), offered the greatest potential to produce well preserved silage. Ensiling AberDart compared to the diploid controls offered a slightly greater probability of producing well preserved silage based on a modest increase of 2 g/L (6%) in WSCAE concentration. The dilemma for silage production is that AberDart, on average produced 558 kg/ha less (4%) DM yield per annum but had a greater (1%) DMD of 6 g/kg than the diploid controls. The tetraploid control had, on average, 13 and 8 g/kg higher (2% and 1%, respectively) DMD than AberDart and AberDove, but at a cost of lower ensilability with lower (6% and 21%, respectively) WSCAE values of 2 and 6 g/L. In its favour, the tetraploid control outyielded AberDart by, on average, 917 kg/ha DM per annum (7%) and produced comparable yields to AberDove. Final ground cover ratings were high (≥ 95%) for all cultivars. Evaluation of nutritional value and ensilability offers further grounds to differentiate and select cultivars for animal production potential.A Teagasc Walsh Fellowship, awarded to P. Conaghan and H. Howard, and the European Commission under the Fifth Framework Programme (QLK5-CT-2001-0498) supported this research

True infliximab resistance in rheumatoid arthritis: a role for lymphotoxin α?

Background: The combination of methotrexate and the anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) antibody infliximab is a very effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, a proportion of patients are not responsive to this treatment. Inefficacy may represent a TNF independent disease or insufficient drug at the site of action. Case report: A patient with RA resistant to repeated high dose infliximab infusions and intra-articular infliximab into an inflamed knee is described. No beneficial clinical effect was observed. Pre-injection arthroscopic biopsy of the study knee demonstrated TNF staining but also confirmed the presence of lymphotoxin (LT or TNFß) on immunohistochemistry. Subsequent treatment with etanercept (which blocks LT as well as TNF) resulted in clinical remission of disease. Conclusion: This case suggests that resistance to TNF blockade may occur when TNF is not the dominant inflammatory cytokine and suggests that LT may have a pathogenic role in RA

McKinley v Ministry of Defence

This is a re-imagined feminist judgment of the Irish Supreme Court in McKinley v Ministry of Defence [1992] 2 IR 33 which extended the right to bring an action for loss of consortium to a wife in relation to injuries sustained by her husband. Previously, the action could only be brought by a husband in relation to injuries sustained by his wife. While my judgment concurs with this outcome I offer an analysis which seeks to balance a need to compensate for losses practically incurred with a concern to erase from law the patriarchal traces of this old cause of action